


I'll Slip Away Into The Sound

by obsessedwriter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Allison Argent & Stiles Stilinski Bromance, Allison Argent & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Angst, Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, Blood, Blow Jobs, Character Death In Dream, Dirty Talk, Drama, Dream Demon, Drug Use, Established Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Good Parent Melissa McCall, Hurt Stiles, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Isaac Lahey & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Love, Music, Nightmares, Oral Sex, Panic Attacks, Past Drug Use, Phone Sex, Public Sex, Recovery, Rough Sex, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski are Brothers, Scott is a Good Friend, Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll, Sleepwalking, Step-siblings, Stiles Has Issues, Stiles Has Nightmares, Stiles Stilinski is a Mess, Stilinski Family Feels, Suicide Notes, Trust Issues, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-15 01:21:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 124,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9213089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessedwriter/pseuds/obsessedwriter
Summary: Stiles is a troubled teenage boy since his mother's death, but he's on his way to get better, mostly through his love for music. He has a girlfriend, a caring father and his own band. Except for his mother, those were the only things he wanted and needed. What he certainly didn't want was a new mom with a stepbrother in tow. But life dosen't care what you want, so now he has to share his dad with Melissa and his room with Scott. Differently than Stiles, Scott accepts his new life and wants to bond with his new brother, which isn't the easiest task, but Scott is never one to give up.





	1. Move On

Stiles was laying on his bed with his guitar on his stomach, playing the strings lazily between his fingers. He starred at the ceiling, while mouthing quietly the lyrics of the song he was playing at the moment. It was around 6 pm and the only reason he was at home instead of band practice, was that his dad wanted him there to announce "some really good news". Stiles didn't quiet know what to think. He had a few ideas what his dad might wanted talk to him about, but in the end it was just guessing, so he tried his very best to be patient, even though that wasn't something he was good at.

At the moment his dad was with his girlfriend Melissa, he had said she needed help with something, but Noah - his dad - promised to be home at 6. Melissa was a nice woman, curly brown hair and always had a friendly smile on her lips. Stiles kinda liked her, though he didn't really know her, because he mostly avoided her and that for two years straight now. Sure, she was cool and all, but Stiles wasn't interested in someone who replaced his mother in his father's heart. He wasn't selfish. He was happy his dad found someone he could love again. Noah had had a hard time recovering from his wife's death, just as Stiles himself. And he really didn't want his father to be alone for the rest of his life. So Stiles thought, Melissa was a pretty good choice, a second chance to build a new life. But that didn't mean, Melissa had to be his second chance as well. Because Stiles didn't want a new life, he wanted his old one back, even though he knew he couldn't get it.

He was better now though. He had been through some dark times, but he found his way back - slowly but surely. His grieve wasn't as bad anymore, which allowed him to look forward again. But the thought of leaving his mother completely behind hurt Stiles so much, he didn't even want to imagine doing it.

At 6:30, Stiles heard cars pulling up the driveway. He pushed his guitar off of his body and stood up to look out of the window. His dad parked the police car beside Stiles blue Jeep and behind him parked a second car, which Stiles quickly discovered as Melissa's. At first he thought she might sleep over, it wouldn't be the first time and Stiles was okay with that, too. But it was the guy who parked his green bike behind his Jeep that confused him.

With a deep frown on his forehead, he turned around and made his way out of the room. Normally, he would have just locked himself in his room and turned some music on, but he was curious about what he just saw. Stiles pulled the arms of his plaid shirt up, while trailing down the stairs. Just as he put one of his feet on the floor, he saw his dad coming in the house with a big box in his hand. Melissa following him with a second one in her own arms. Stiles froze on his place. One foot still on the last step of the stairs, his hand gripping the end of the railing tightly as he starred at the two adults. His dad looked a little worried, but managed to put a small smile on his face. Melissa looked guilty as fuck. Stiles eyed them warily until a third person with another box went through the front door and into his house. The boy looked at him in curiosity and smiled shyly.

They all put the boxes down, while Stiles still stood where he was before, ready to run, because this, _this_ fucking scene he saw in front of him, couldn't be any good.

"Stiles, come here son, I need to tell you something." His father's calm voice broke the thick uncomfortable silence in the room. Stiles muttered something like 'clearly' under his breath, but reminded silent otherwise. He forced himself to walk normal and casually over to the others, he tried his best not to show how freaked out he really was. His dad had always been good at reading him though, so it didn't surprise him, when Noah laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You remember Melissa telling you about her son?" The Sheriff asked. Stiles suppressed a scoff, because yeah, he could fucking remember. It was over a year ago, Stiles had been sitting on the couch in only his boxers and an old shirt, playing a shooter game and swearing loudly at Isaac over his headset, when his dad and Melissa had walked through the door, coming home from a late night date. He hadn't even seen them, until they both came up to the side of the sofa he'd been sprawled across. Stiles hadn't cared about how he looked, it was his home after all and he could wear whatever he wanted, especially when he had been alone the whole time. His dad however had shot him a dangerous look, so Stiles had politely apologized, before quitting the game, with every intention to just go up to his room and hide himself.

Melissa had had other plans though. She had sat herself beside Stiles and laughed his apology off. And then she had told him about her own son and how he always laid the same way on the couch Stiles had been, telling him his name and what hobbies he had and that he played some kind of sports. She even had shown Stiles pictures of the other boy, but he hadn't really looked at them. He hadn't been the slightest bit interested and he still wasn't.

When he didn't say anything, his father continued. "Well, this is him." He pointed to the boy by Melissa's side. _Don't you say_ , Stiles thought sarcastically. Seemingly his face had been giving away his thoughts, because Noah's eyes were flashing a warning look in his son's direction. Stiles on the other hand just rolled his eyes. Scott interrupted their silent conversation by taking a few steps forward, so he stood right in front of Stiles. They were having the same height, but Stiles felt smaller than ever.

"Hi, I'm Scott." The tanned boy said and extended his hand toward him. Scott had dark hair and loyal brown puppy dog eyes, which where trained on Stiles at the moment. He smiled lightly, causing his uneven jaw to stand out more than usual. Stiles swallowed hard. He felt his father's eyes on him, hell he felt everyone's eyes at him, so he straightened himself up and shook the other teenager's hand.

"Stiles." He replied shortly.

"It's nice to finally meet you." And that was the truth. Scott didn't want to be just polite, he was honestly excited to finally meet Noah's son. Their parents were dating for almost two years now and he really wanted to know the boy he heard stories about. Stiles wore casual clothes, just like Scott himself. He even was the same height. His brown messy hair was styled up, but looked like a hand had run through it too often, so now a few loose strands hung over his forehead. His eyes were a strange golden color. The dark moles on his face standing in a sharp contrast to his pale skin. Noah had told Scott a few things about his son, nothing too personal, but he did say he closed himself up as soon as someone tried to get to know him better. And Scott could totally see this happen at the moment. Stiles didn't respond to Scott, instead took a few steps back and then turned to his father.

"What's all this?" Stiles asked, while pointing at the boxes. The Sheriff sighed deeply, knowing that the following conversation wouldn't be easy.

"Let's go to the living room and sit down."

"Dad, don't try to buy time here. Just tell me already." Stiles got impatient. These boxes could only mean so much.

"You're right." Noah took a deep breath. He gave the front door a little nudge with his foot, so it would fall shut, just in case Stiles tried to run off, which wouldn't be the first time. He settled one of his arms around Melissa's shoulder, giving her and himself some comfort. The Sheriff had told Melissa a lot about his son, he knew she would understand everything that could happen in the next moments. Nevertheless, he hoped Stiles reaction wouldn't be too harsh.

Only one way to find out.

"We certainly didn't want it to happen so unexpected, though Melissa and I have talked about it for a while now. I wish I could have prepared you for it, but the circumstances have changed and that's why I didn't have the chance to tell you about this sooner."

Stiles slowly shook his head at his father's words. He knew exactly which words would come out next. He wasn't ready. He didn't want that. He couldn't. Stiles tried his best not to panic, he concentrated on his breathing - slowly in and out. His eyes though, wandered quickly around the room, looking for an escape. But he knew he couldn't run away, not from that. His dad raised a hand toward him as if he could calm him down with just the gesture, before continuing.

"I know this isn't easy for you, but Melissa and Scott will move in with us."

There it was. His dad had said it out loud. Stiles felt like throwing up. Why did he have to do this to him? He fucking knew how Stiles felt about all of this and his dad couldn't think of anything better than to let those people move in with them? The Sheriff knew exactly what whirled around his son's head, he could see the betrayal in his eyes, but Stiles couldn't expect of him to never go a step further with Melissa. And that's what he wanted to explain to him, as careful as he could.

“How can you do this?” Stiles asked with a broken voice and Noah did his best to not give in and call the whole thing off. But he refused to let Stiles win this round, it was time for them to move on and he certaintly wanted to do it with Stiles together.

“As I said, Melissa and I have been talking about this before, but we wanted to take things slow, so you and Scott could adjust to the idea. But Melissa had to sign her house over to her ex-husband sooner than expected, so we're just going with it. I'm sorry everything happens so fast, Stiles, but they will move in with us.” Noah stood to his words. As soon as Melissa had told him about her husband wanting the house, his decision had been made.

It wasn't as bad as it sounded. Melissa and Rafael ended their marriage on good terms and when she found out he was looking for a house to move in with his new girlfriend, she had called him and said, if he could wait a few months longer, she would give him the house over, because she planned on moving out as well. He'd accepted gratefully and assured time wouldn't be a problem. That was until Rafael had called her three days ago, saying things changed and he needed to move out of his apartment withing the next week. He promised he would understand, if Melissa couldn't just give him the house on short terms, but after a long talk with Noah, she made her deciscion and started to pack her stuff. And now she and her son were here. In their new home.

“That's great, dad, but can you remember what _we_ have been talking about? Can you remember how I told you, I was okay with you and Melissa beeing together, but that I wanted to be left alone in return? Maybe it's easy for you, but I can't just replace mom with another woman.” Stiles hated this, he hated fighting with his dad, especially when it was about his mother. But he had always been one to say what he thinks and he wouldn't hold back now just because there were other people in the room as well.

“Stop right there!” Noah got a little louder. He didn't yell though, that was something he rarely did. “I'm not replacing your mother and you know that. I miss her just as much, but at some point we need to stop run in circles. We need to move on.”

“I can't-” Stiles started, but his dad stopped him with a hand gesture. He loosened himself off his girlfriend, before walking over to his son. He placed both of his hands on Stiles shoulders, while looking him in the eyes.

“I'm not talking about forgetting her, okay? We never will. But I'm talking about living our life like she would want us to.” The Sheriff's voice was softer now. He could understand everything Stiles was feeling, because he had felt the same. He was so lucky he had found Melissa, she really helped him get through his grieve and though Stiles had a lot of people who helped him as well, it took him longer to get over his mother's death and that was something Noah would never judge him for.

Melissa cleared her throat quietly, before walking a few steps forward in their direction. As always, she had a reassuring and friendly smile on her lips. Stiles heart clenched as he glanced over to her. She looked at him like a caring mother and he wished he could hate it.

“I won't ever be a replacement for your mother, Stiles. Sure, when we live together I will be cooking for you sometimes, maybe even make your laundry or clean your room if you're too busy with school and everything other. But let me tell you, I will do that, because I want to be a part of your life, just like your dad wants to take care of my son as well. And he could never replace Scott's real dad, but that's okay, because that's not what we want. I don't want to be a replacement, I want to be Melissa, your dad's girlfriend, because I love him very much and I wish we could build a life together. We all.” Stiles listened to everything Melissa had to say. He liked her, he really did. She was nice and friendly and always helpful. Maybe that was in her natur. Even now, in an awful situation like that, she found the right words. Stiles knew all of what she had been saying already. But it was important for him to hear it from her. She really did love his father and his dad loved her just as much, that was something Stiles knew as well. He would never ruin that for his dad, not when he had a chance to live with such a kind woman as Melissa.

“Okay. Under one condition.” Stiles said quietly. He could see his father holding his breath and he toyed with the idea to let him struggle a bit longer, but he abandoned it as quickly as it came to his mind. “No one's removing the pictures of mom in the living room or the paintings she made herself.”

Noah let out a relieved sigh. Sometimes it was really hard to deal with Stiles and he had been afraid his son would come up with some strange conditions, but in the end he only demanded things, the Sheriff didn't even want to change in the first place. “I wouldn't have done that either way. So we're good now?”

Stiles nodded and swallowed down a 'for now'. He was pretty sure this wouldn't be the last argument they would have, but for now he accepted Melissa's words, even though he didn't like this new adjustment one bit.

“Can I make a condition as well?” Melissa asked bravely. Stiles shrugged, not sure what she could have in mind. She continued. “One day a week, I want us all to do something together, even if it's just for a few hours. I know you don't like bonding, but this will only work if we get to know each other better.”

No, no he really didn't like bonding. The thought alone went shivers down his back, but he couldn't help but agree with her. He wanted this to work as well, for his dad's sake and that would only happen, if he knew the people who were living in his house now. God, he didn't want to do this.

“Yeah, okay, but that dosen't mean I have to like it.”

Melissa tried her best not to smile, but failed miserably. She raised her hand to her mouth to hide her big girn, but it wasn't like Stiles hadn't seen it before. He rolled his eyes but couldn't help smile as well, just a little tiny smile, the corners of his mouth barely raising, but it was enough for Melissa to let her hand drop again and show her happiness. The Sheriff on the other hand was still nervous, because there was another thing Stiles wouldn't like. He straightened the wrinkles in his shirt, while thinking about the best way he could annonce the bad news. When he didn't find one, he decided to just let the bomb drop.

“There's another thing.. It's going to take me a while until I'm sorted through all the stuff in our spare room, so you need to share yours with Scott until then.” Stiles blinked at his father, before switching his gaze to Scott, who still stood silently in the same place he had been before. He asked himself, if his father wanted to test his temper, because one more surprise and Stiles was sure he would explode. He pressed his lips hard together in a thin line to stop any words that might want to escape. Letting out a huff, that sounded more like a growl than anything other, he nodded again. He could do this, he could still go through all this. For his dad. For his dad's happiness. Stiles replied those words silently like a mantra in his head.

“Great.” His dad smiled and clapped his hands loudly together, which caused Scott to twitch in surprise. The tension in the room was so thick, but the Sheriff smirked right through it. He had expected a lot more trouble, but his son was way more understanding than he had thought. “You help Scott bring his stuff in your room and show im around, yeah?”

Stiles threw his head in his neck and let out a loud fake laugh, the barking sound echoing through the house. If someone managed to laugh sarcastically, then it was Stiles. He clapped his dad twice on the shoulder, before walking to the stairs, taking two steps a time, while his father called his name after him. He could hear the Sheriff grumbling and apologizing to Scott, it sent cruel satisfaction through Stiles body.

Scott said he would help carry the rest of their boxes inside the house, which all went by silently. Noah and his mother said something to each other every now and then, but otherwise it was pretty quiet, but that was okay with Scott, because he had a lot to think about. He tried his best to keep himself together for his mother's sake, but in truth he felt like freaking out every second now. It didn't really matter to him that they moved, even though he missed his old house already. However, his dad had promised to keep Scott's room the way it is, so when he wanted to visit him, he could still sleep in his old room, which Scott was really grateful for.

He didn't care either that he needed to go to another school, because of their moving. His mom had made sure, he really felt comfortable about changing school, telling him they wouldn't move, if he wanted to graduate at his old school. But the truth was, Scott was more than happy to leave his school behind, the new one couldn't be worse, so he was actually looking forward to it.

The only thing he felt uneasy about, was his new stepbrother. He had never met Stiles, because the other boy didn't want to get to know him. Melissa explained to him, that Stiles had some kind of trust issues and bonding problems, which didn't make it any easier to live with him under the same roof. The Sheriff said he should always keep trying to talk to his son and he shouldn't take it too personal, if Stiles leashed out on him. Scott promised, both his mother and Noah, he would try his best.

When every box stood in the hallway and living room, Scott took one with his name on it and slowly made his way to the stairs. The Sheriff did the same, but took two boxes in his arms and then walked behind Scott. On top of the stairs, Noah lead him to Stiles room, hoping his son was still cooperative. The door was ajar, so he nudged it open with his shoulder, revealing Stiles who sat at his desk. Seemingly, he had only been waiting for them. Noah searched for a free place to put the boxes and when he didn't find one, he went over to Stiles. He put the boxes in his son's lap, who huffed in respond. The Sheriff rolled the chair Stiles was sitting on backwards until he had enough room to place the boxes under the desk.

“I need my desk, dad.”

“Well, it's a good thing the boxes are _under_ your desk then.” Stiles rolled his eyes at his father's answer, but didn't say anything other. He watched as his dad put away Scott's stuff. Stiles had almost been freaking out about the thought alone that Melissa and Scott were moving in with them, but actually seeing it was something completely different. He could only hope, he would get his room back for himself in a few days.

“Would you take the mattress off the guest bed and put it beside your bed?” Noah asked his son. He knew Stiles didn't like this change here, but that wasn't a excuse for beeing rude. Stiles could, and the Sheriff would make sure he actually would, help Scott with everything out. When his son didn't move, Noah sighed loudly. He pushed the last box under the desk, before straighteing himself. “Listen, we all know you don't like the change, but this is new for Scott, too. He moved out of his childhood house, changed school and now needs to share a room with a guy, who acts like he wouldn't care about him one bit. Get yourself together, you're not alone in this.”

Stiles glanced at his dad with a dark glint in his eyes, but only because he knew he was right. He thought of something witty to say, though for once absolutely nothing came to his mind. He pushed himself off the chair, causing it roll further backwards, and slendered through the door to get to the spare room, which would be Scott's in hopefully a few days. The first look in the room brought Stiles to sigh. It was pure chaos and he couldn't really imagine his dad getting through all this stuff in only two or three days. They had stashed everything possible in this room, it would take a long time to sort this all out.

Stiles climbed clumsly over the things in there, knocked first his knee and then his ellbow on something hard and sharp. He swore grumpily, before fighting the mattress off the bed. It was an absolut struggle to get it off and out of the room with the little space to move in, but after a few more swears and strumbling, he managed to push it out of the room. Growling, he lifted the mattress up, carrying it in front of his body, so he needed to walk sideways to see where he was going. When he finally reached his room again, he let out a loud “fuck!”, before letting mattress fall to the floor. He was actually sweating, because of all the struggling he did before.

Scott looked like he wanted to say something, maybe offer his help, but decided to stay silent instead, which was a good thing, because Stiles was always very irritable whenever he struggled with something. He pushed the mattress angrily across the floor and beside his bed. His father looked amused with a smug grin on his face. It wasn't always easy with Stiles, but most of the time, he knew how to handle him. Stiles choose to ignore his dad, his pride way to touchy to handle any cockiness at the moment.

He went out of his room a second time and into his father's instead. Walking over to the wardrobe, he took a bedspread and the spare pillow and blanket, the ones Isaac always had used whenever he'd ran away from his abusive dad and had asked to crash over. Now he was living with the Argents, Chris had adpoted him after Isaac's father had beat him up so badly he landed in the hospital. Stiles could remember that Allison and Isaac fought a lot at the beginning, but now there were so close to each other, they refered to each other as brother and sister. It was an other situation than the one he had with Scott now though, so he shook off his thoughts and wandered back to his room. He let all the stuff he had in his arms fall onto the mattress, because, let's face it, Scott was old enough to make his bed along. He fell back down on his own bed and hid his face with his arm. The Sheriff smug smile changed into a proud one. He could clearly see that his son was still grumpy and unhappy about the situation, but at least he did as he was told now and helped Scott. He went over to him and placed a hand on his upper arm, squeezing it with fondness, before walking out of the room, letting the boys by themselves.

Scott stood uselessly in the room, at least he felt that way. He didn't dare to move or say anything as long as Stiles was swearing and grumbling with a deep frown on his forehead. It was only when the heat started to raise in his head, that he realized, he had held his breath the whole time, too. Scott shook his head in an atempt to get himself together. This was his life now and he would try to make the best out of it. He was way to optimistic to let himself feel down.

When Noah left, he made his way over to his mattress. He pulled the bed sheet over it, before arranging the pillow at the top and folding the blankets at the bottom. After that he dared to have a look at the room. It wasn't really speacial, a typical teenager room, mostly colored in light blue. A desk in the corner of the room, stashed with paperwork and school books. Scott let his gaze wander further to the shelve, which stood on the wall beside the door. It was filled with uncontable amounts of books and two chessboards and that was something, why Scott always thought bedrooms were something very intimate, because they could say so much about you. Like, the room looked clean and all, but it wasn't tidy. Everything seemed to be on it's place, but in a mild chaos like the mass of papers on his desk. Maybe Stiles wouldn't talk to him, but Scott would definitely get to know him better through his room. He saw a pair of drum sticks in the same shelf the books were in, as well as CD's and lots of Vinyl. And then there was the guitar, which laid beide Stiles on the bed, so Scott reasoned he was a heavy fan of music, especially rock and alternative from what he could see on the CD's and the posters on the walls. He remembered Noah telling him something about Stiles making music himself.

Scott observed the room further until his eyes landed on some pictures on the wall above the desk. He walked over there to get a better look at them. Every picture was secured to the wall with tape stripes, askew and without any real order, at least non Scott could see. There were almost ever the same persons on the photos; a pretty girl with red hair and full lips, one with brown hair and always a beautiful smile on her face, an asian looking girl with black hair, a guy with dirty blonde curly hair with a sheepish girn on his face, and then Stiles himself. Scott assumed these were the people Stiles hung out most.

The first photo that got Scott's attention was one with the redhead in it. It was a close up selfie from her and Stiles, both head to head, smiling brightly in the camera.

The second picture his eyes fell on, was one he almost wasn't able to look away. The girl with the brown hair had her arms slung around Stiles' neck, he had his arm around her shoulders and both were smiling for the camera. They looked really close and if he had enough courage, he would have asked Stiles about the girl. Because she was definitely the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He briefly wondered, if he would see her around some time in school or maybe even here at home.

He forced himself to look on another photo, before he would start to drool all over the other one. On this one was the girl with the red hair again, she stood beside Stiles, her arm around his back, his around her shoulder. And beside Stiles was Noah in his sheriff uniform, both had their arms around each others back as well. Scott liked this one, because it looked like a moment, they had been truly happy.

His gaze wandered quickly over the other photos, they all looked pretty much the same. Stiles and his friends always had their arms around each and were smiling into the camera. Most of the pictures had the redhead in it, but there were quiet a lot of the others, too. Scott saw at least seven photos of all five of them together, but there were a few within, where just Stiles, the asian girl and the other guy could be seen on together. On one of them the girl stood behind a keyboard, the guy with the blonde curls beside her with drum sticks in his hand and on the girl's other side was Stiles, a guitar strapped around his body. Maybe they made music together or were in a band. That would explain the amount of photos with just the three of them.

Scott took a few steps to his left to look at the cork board, which was on the wall next to the taped photos. There were lots of notes on it and a few polaroid pictures pinned on, but not as much as on the wall. Two of the photos confirmed the assumption he already had, while he'd looked at the taped pictures. Both of them with the red haired girl and Stiles again. The first one had them both looking and smiling at each other. She wore a dress and Stiles was in a white button down. In the corner, written with a black marker, stood ' _Spring Ball '16_ '. The other showed them in each others arms again, smiling in the camera. They wore both casual clothes and looked really comfortable around each other. This photo had a writing as well, labeled as _'L+S first date_ ', which was the confirmation Scott needed to be absolutely sure that this was Stiles' girlfriend. He had assumed it already, when he had seen the other pictures, because they almost ever stood side by side on the photos or she was kissing him on the cheek. But he thought maybe there were just really good friends, because Stiles seemed close to the others too. Now, though, he was sure they dated.

"What are you doing?" Stiles suddenly asked from behind him, still on his bed, but now in a sitting position. Scott turned around with a surprised look on his face. He wasn't expecting to hear Stiles' voice so soon again. He scratched the back of his head, before pointing over his shoulder to the photos.

"I uhm.. I was just looking at the pictures." Scott explained truthfully. Stiles couldn't blame him for looking around the room. Everyone would have done that and it wasn't like the photos had been hid somewhere and neither was he looking through Stiles stuff. He just observed all the obvious things. When Stiles didn't reply, Scott decided to ask something in return. "The girl with the red hair, she's your girlfriend, right?"

Stiles looked at him suspiciously, eyeing him from the bottom to the top as if he would be looking for something Scott could hide from him. But it wasn't Scott's intention to hide something, it was the complete opposite. He wanted to get to know Stiles better and in return, he would tell him everything Stiles wanted to know about him. The only problem was, that the other teenager seemed not the slightest bit interested in anything Scott had to offer. He wouldn't back down so easily though, he had promised he would try his best with Stiles, even if it earned him weary looks and frowns.

After a long pause, Stiles finally answered with a short and simple "yeah", but it was enough for Scott to continue their conversation.

"What's her name?”

And again Stiles stayed silent. He didn't knew what Scott's intentions were. Probably, he just wanted to get to know him better, but Stiles wasn't interested. Okay, maybe that wasn't true. Stiles was actually curious about the other boy, but he just couldn't allow himself to get vulnerable. The reason he hated getting to know people, was that he was afraid he would like them. To normal people it may sound ridiculous, to him it was constant fear he could lose those people. That's why he got jealous, whenever he was at a party with Lydia and another guy flirted with her. That's why he had cried himself to sleep, the night his dad told him he started to see Melissa, full of fear he would lose his father to the woman. That's why he shut himself off from Melissa and Scott, because he'd already lost one mother and he could never bare to get through that again, because he had lost Heather, the girl he'd always seen as a sister. It was enough for Stiles, he already needed to worry about his four closest friends and his father. He hadn't any desire to add more people on the 'when I lose you I'm going to lose my mind as well – list'.

“Lisa, Lilly, Luna, Lara, Louise.” Scott suddenly started. Stiles looked at him as if _he_ was the crazy one now. What the hell was wrong with him? “Layla, Lissy, Lena.”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Well, you don't want to tell me your girlfriend's name, but I know, thanks to the polaroid over there, that her name starts with a L. So, give me a sign, if I get the right one, yeah?” Scott answered casually. This guy really didn't back off easily. Stiles would have been impressed, because that was totally something he would do too, but simultaniously he was pissed off Scott pulled a move like that on him.

Scott took a deep breath and started again. “Larissa, Lila, Lili-”

“Lydia! Okay, her name is Lydia. Can you shut the fuck up now?” Stiles barked at him angrily and Scott smiled smugly. If Stiles didn't want to share anything with him, Scott simply had to find other ways to get him to talk to him. And annoying him to death seemed like a pretty good idea, and a successful one, too. His thoughts wandered back to the pretty brunette girl from the photos. Scott bit his lip, weightening his chances of really getting an answer out of Stiles, if he asked for her name as well. After a moment, he decided to ask. What did he have lose after all?

“And her name?” He pointed at the picture of her and Stiles with their arms slung around each other. Stiles lifted his head to get a look at the picture Scott was pointing at. When he saw, who the other was refearing to, he raised his eyebrows at Scott, who in return was only shrugging his shoulders, because why should he start explain himself, when Stiles only aknowledged him halfheartly all the time. “I can start guessing names again, if you want.”

Stiles shot him a dangerous look, before standing up from the bed and going over to where Scott was standing beside the desk. Their equal height allowing Stiles to look right into Scott's brown orbs, starring a warning in his face with a pissed off expression on his own.

“What game are you trying to play here?” Stiles asked with a calm voice, which didn't match his angry observant look. Scott swallowed thickly and shook his head with little confusion. He really didn't want to get punched on his first day living with Stiles.

“I'm not playing anything. I just wanted to know her name, but it's cool, you don't have to tell me.”

“Her name is Allison and she's my best friend, so you better stay the fuck away from her.”

“Stiles, hey, I don't.. I don't want to take away your friends, okay? I just want to get to know you better.” Stiles blinked at the other boy's respond. Was he really that easy to read? Stood his fear of losing people so clearly on his face, that everyone, who looked a little closer could figure it out? Now it was his turn to swallow the lump in his throat down.

“I don't know anyone here, so I thought it would be nice to have at least you by my side. Considering we're now stepbrothers or whatever.” Scott shrugged at the end of his sentence. He waited a few seconds for an answer and when he didn't get one, he bend down to grab one of his boxes. There were still some of them at their old house, they didn't get them all packed up in only the two cars today, so they would take the rest tomorrow. If the Sheriff could persuade Stiles to help them, they even had one car more to pack all of their stuff in and maybe they would get all of it in one go with the extra space.

Scott had made sure to get the boxes with his jeans, shirts and sleeping clothes, so he would have something to wear. He searched through the one box he'd opened until he found his pyjama pants and toothbrush, while Stiles was still standing in front of him, watching him in curiosity. When Scott asked where the bathroom was, Stiles answered for a change right away, before going over his bed again and grabbing his guitar. He slumped down on the bedsheets and sighed out loud.

Scott went into the bathroom, finding it on first try with Stiles' instructions. He changed into his more comfortable clothes, before looking at himself through the mirror. He looked a bit tired, but that was understandable. The day had been stressful and exhausting, he couldn't wait to fall into his selfmade bed and relax for the rest of the evening. Scott brushed his teeth and washed his face, then collected his clothes from the floor and walking into Stiles' room again. The other teenager still laid on his bed with the guitar placed over his chest, but this time though, he was pulling the strings, sending soft sounds through the otherwise silent room.

Scott went to place his clothes on his boxes, when Stiles unexpected voice startled him once again. “I made room in my closet.”, was all he said. He didn't even look at him while doing so. Scott couldn't hide his surprise and let out a bewildered sounding noise. Slowly, he made his way over to Stiles' closet, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, as if he expected the other to jump him any moment. But he didn't. So Scott opened the closet and found indeed a free spot where he could put his clothes. A small smile was forming on his lips, while he folded his jeans and shirt and then put them away. He turned around again to look at Stiles, who was still laying on his back and looking at the ceiling.

“Thanks.”

He didn't know what else to say and he had a feeling, if he said anything more, it would only annoy Stiles again, so he kept it simple. As expected he got only a grunt as a respond, well it was actually more than Scott had expected. Happy with the turn of events, he went over to his mattress and let himself fall onto it with a content sigh. His head hit the pillow, so that he was now looking at the ceiling as well. He laid like that for a few minutes, before he took his phone and went through twitter and after that started to play a game he had on his phone, while Stiles was still lazily playing unknown songs on his guitar. Neither of them said anything for the rest of the evening.

When their parents decided to check in on them, after hours full of silence, which was uncharacteristically for Stiles and had made Noah suspicious, they were both in the same position as before. Melissa and Noah were quite surprised to find their sons peacefully on their beds, though the sight of them made the couple happy. It would take time for them to grow into a family, but the Sheriff would make sure this would work out like they wanted.


	2. Gonna Get Along

The next morning, Stiles got woken up by his alarm on 7am. He groaned loudly and searched blindly for his phone. When he finally found it, he stopped the alarm. Tiredly, he ran his hands over his face. Even though he had slept through the whole night, without any nightmare disturbing him, he felt drained and in need for much more sleep. He laid there for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his blanket, he was snuggled in. He wished Lydia was here with him. Whenever he was tired, he liked to cuddle up to her, planting his face in between her soft breast and his leg between hers. Stiles let out another groan, this time because of his unfulfilled desires.

He pushed the blanket off his body, getting instantly hit by a wave of cold air and he wanted nothing more, than to wrapped himself in the warmth again. But he needed to get ready for school, so he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and pulled himself up. He went to make the first step, but his foot got stuck on something and before he could do anything against it, Stiles lost his balance and face planted the floor, hard.

In the same moment Stiles fell, a scream echoed through the room, but it wasn't Stiles who screamed. It was Scott. He had slept through the alarm and enjoyed his wonderful dream about Allison, the beautiful brunette he didn't even know – yet. That was until something heavy landed on his stomach. Startled, he had sat himself up with a scream. For a moment, he didn't know where he was or what had woken him. A loud whining noise brought him back to reality and when he looked down, he saw Stiles legs sprawled over his thighs, his bottom in the air, while is upper body hung hunched over Scott's mattress, his chest and face on the wooden floor.

Stiles moaned loudly at the pain spreading through his cheek, when at the same time the door to his room got flung open, showing his father and Melissa with worried looks on their faces, which quickly changed into confused ones, as soon as they saw the scene in front of them. Scott sitting on his makeshift bed with a shocked expression on his face and Stiles laying halfway on top of him, his cheek pressed to the floor and his eyes closed in pain. The parents didn't know, if they should laugh or stay worried.

Noah supressed a laugh by clearing his throat and walked over to his son. He crouched beside him and laid a hand on his back. Stiles groaned a quiet 'ow'. The Sheriff turned his face to Scott, who still looked like he saw a ghost and seemed frozen to his bed. This time Noah couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

“What happened? You gave us a heart attack.”

“I-I don't know, I was sleeping and then I suddenly woke up. I think he fell over me.” Scott babbled ahead, his eyes now locked with the Sheriff ones. He didn't really register what was happening here, getting ripped out of his deep slumber that way, but he figured there were only so many options that could have happened and the one he told Noah seemed the most logic one. The Sheriff nodded and averted his gaze to look down at his son again.

“Sounds like him.” Noah replied shortly, before asking. “Hey buddy, you're okay down there?”

“I want Lydia.” Stiles mumbled into the floor dreamily.

“Well, Lydia isn't here.”

“Where's she?” Stiles felt dizzy and light-headed, his cheek hurt from the impact with the floor and he really really wanted Lydia right now.

“At home, I assume.”

“Why?”

“Because she didn't sleep over.” The father answered. He felt like he was talking to a kid version of Stiles. Back then he always asked one question after the other. It had been hard to put up with his little powerball. Within the years Stiles got a bit calmer, his curiosity on the other hand never went down.

“Why?” Stiles asked again.

“Did you hit your head or something?” Noah really started to worry over Stiles now. He placed the hand he had on his back to his head instead and lifted him gently off the floor. A big red bruise was covering Stiles cheek.

“I fell on my face, like wow, full on. Gravity, you little fucker.” Stiles mumbled nonsense, while his dad helped him sit up. It was only when the Sheriff run his finger carefully over the bruise, that Stiles got to himself again. He winced and pulled his head back out of his dad's reach. He blinked at him, before looking to his side, where Scott was eyeing him worriedly.

“You should Melissa have a look at that.” Noah suggested and threw a quick look over his shoulder, where Melissa was standing. She didn't want to intrude in Stiles' room, not without his permission, so she stayed at the door and watched the scene quietly. Though she gave a smile and an encouraging nod, when Noah looked back to her. Stiles on the other hand shook his head.

“Nah, I'm fine, was just really confused for a moment.”

“Stiles, you're sure? Just let her have-”

“I'm fine, dad. It was like punch in the face, nothing heavy. It just caught me off guard.”

Stiles struggled to get up, but as soon as he straightened himself, he stood sure on his feet and his dizziness went down as well. He put a grin on his lips and shot his father a quick thumps up. But as he saw, the Sheriff was still watching him closely, he rolled his eyes with a sign and went over to Melissa. She looked surprised, but then went full professional and observed Stiles bruised cheek. It had an angry red color, but she was sure it was just a bruise, nothing fractured. So she smiled at Stiles and nodded as an agreement to the respond, he had given his father earlier.

“It'll still hurt a few days, but you're going to be fine. You should put an ice pack on it though.”

Noah let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't an over worried parent, but since his wife's death, he always had a closer look on his son, which he figured was reasonable. After Stiles had said his thanks to Melissa for checking on him, he went over to his closet and grabbed some clothes. He announced he would go shower now and promised his dad to put some ice on his cheek after that. Noah nodded gratefully and said he would soon be on his way to work already, but that he relied on Stiles taking care of himself or accepting help from Melissa. Stiles only huffed out a quiet 'yeah', before walking out of the room and into the bathroom.

Noah made sure, Scott was okay, too, but except for an ugly way to wake up, he was fine. When both parents were downstairs again, Scott let himself fall down on the mattress again. His first night in his new home had actually been better than he'd expected. He'd thought he would have problems with sleeping or would wake up without any orientation and freak out, but he had slept well and even though he didn't have his own room yet, he felt like this could be his actual home some day.

When he felt like getting up, Scott made his way over to his boxes and started to unpack those with his clothes in. He put them into his side of the closet, still thankful for Stiles helping him out that way without him needing to ask. He had two boxes empty and fold them together, so they wouldn't take in so much space, even if it was just underneath the desk. The third box was still full though, he had some other stuff in there like CD's and DVD's. It wasn't until he grabbed a jeans and a shirt to wear for today, that he realized he forgot something very important. He groaned out loud, sunk to his knees and put his head into the closet to hide his face in his clothes. He heard Stiles footsteps coming down the hallway and he held back another groan. Scott felt already uncomfortable about taking Stiles room over like that, but what he had to ask him now was just utterly embarrassing.

“Oh no, what now?”, was all Stiles said when he went into the room and saw Scott hunched over in his closet. The other teenager let out a whine and buried his face deeper in his clothes. Stiles frowned at him, but waited for an answer, while throwing his night-clothes on his unmade bed.

“I forgot my underwear at home.” Scott's voice was muffled through his clothes, but Stiles could still hear him. There were running thousand thoughts in his head at the moment, many ways of making fun of Scott, but at the end he decided to swallow his jokes down. He could clearly see how uncomfortable Scott felt. Stiles opened a drawer of the dresser, wich stood to his right and grabbed a pair of boxers and socks. He let them drop beside Scott and then walked over to his desk to shove his books and homework he had done yesterday into his backpack.

Scott looked down beside himself, when he felt something land there. He was surprised to see Stiles underwear there. He had expected everything possible; Stiles punching him, Stiles laughing at him, Stiles laughing and then punching him, but not that. Who would have thought Stiles could actually be nice? He opened his mouth to thank the other boy, but got interrupted by him.

“Don't mention it. I mean it. Don't mention it, like ever.” Stiles shook his head to get rid of whatever thought had been creeping into his mind, while sliding his backpack on one shoulder. He walked out of the room without another word. Scott was kinda grateful for the interruption, because.. well, saying something like 'thanks for sharing your underwear with me' wasn't something he ever wanted to do.

Scott grabbed all the clothes and made his way to the bathroom. Hot steam hit him when he opened the door, the room still clouded from Stiles' shower before. He put the clothes aside and searched through the cabinets until he found a towel. He hung it over the shower and stepped in after he had stripped down. Scott turned the water on and instantly closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth raining down on his body.

After what seemed to be hours, but actually were only about ten minutes, Scott got out of the shower and dried himself with the towel. He hung it on the door, when he was done and then turned to his clothes. He pulled the plaid boxers over his hips and they fit him perfectly. He dressed himself quickly, before starting to brush his teeth. He had absolutely no idea what time it was, so he wanted to get done as fast as possible now.

A few more minutes went by until Scott finally made it out of the bathroom. He dumped his sleeping wear on his bed, just like Stiles had done before and then went down the stairs. He found his way into the kitchen, where Stiles was munching on his cereals, one hand holding an ice pack to his cheek. Guilt overcame him. Scott knew he didn't do anything, but if it wasn't for him, Stiles wouldn't have fallen.

“Hey dude, I'm sorry.” Scott began. Stiles turned his attention to the other boy. For a moment he looked confused, but eventually understood what Scott was referring to.

“Don't be, wasn't your fault.” He answered with another mouth full of cereals. Stiles maybe behaved like he didn't care, but that was just to protect himself. He wasn't an asshole, well, not completely anyway. Fact was, Scott didn't have anything to do with the stunt Stiles had done half an hour before.

Scott thought about saying something else, but again, decided against it. He didn't want to push his luck with Stiles, because it seemed like they were finally on good terms now. Melissa walked in the kitchen and smiled fondly at her son. She asked him how he'd slept that night and he answered truthfully, that it wasn't as bad as he'd expected. The mother listened to Scott, while she was looking through the cupboards for another two bowls, so she and Scott could eat something, too. Stiles pointed silently to the cupboard to Melissa's left and when she opened it, she found what she was looking for. She sent a thankful smile in Stiles' direction, before sitting at the table. Scott did the same.

Their breakfast went by silently. It felt foreign to Stiles. Mostly he was having breakfast alone, because his dad always needed to be early at the station, when he didn't have a night-shift. Sometimes he even just skipped breakfast and ate something at school. He thought maybe it was the same for Scott, too. As a nurse, Melissa had strange working hours as well. It was the first time he actually thought about how the other boy could feel. His dad had been right. Scott went through the same changes as Stiles himself did.

When they were done, Melissa collected all their dishes and put them into the sink to clean them later. Stiles put the ice pack back into the freezer and then shrugged his backpack back on. After that he made his way to the front door. Scott said his goodbyes to his mom, before following his stepbrother into the hallway, where he grabbed his helmet, and then went out of the house.

They drove separately to school, but Scott always made sure to drive directly behind Stiles. Noah had said the school wasn't far away and he would find it easily, but Scott thought it wouldn't hurt to be on the safe side and follow Stiles. Scott was nervous. He never was the new guy and he had absolutely no clue what to expect. He just hoped Stiles would stay at his side.

After a handful minutes of driving, Scott could see the Beacon Hills High School in front of him. Sure, moving into another house had been a huge step, but signing in on another school made it feel even more final. He was about to begin a new life, meet new people, hopefully make some friends.

Stiles parked his Jeep in an empty spot and turned off the engine. He took a deep breath and looked out of the window to Scott, who was about to get off of his bike. He asked himself how long it would take until the whole school would know the new guy was his.. stepbrother. It even felt strange only _thinking_ that word. Beacon Hills was a small town, things like that usually spread around within a few days. It wasn't like Stiles was ashamed or anything, he just didn't like when people talked about him and the loss of his mother and that would be something that would happen as soon as everyone knew Melissa lived with his dad now.

Deciding he couldn't do anything against it, Stiles jumped out of his car and locked it. Scott came to his side and smiled apologizing at him. He didn't want to pester Stiles the whole time, but he couldn't change the situation and he simply needed help to find his way around. The two of them walked up the stairs, but instead of walking through the front doors, Stiles made his way to the side of the school. Scott was unsure for a moment, but hadn't much of a choice, so he followed him. And when he rounded the corner, he couldn't be happier about it. Leaning against the wall of the school, stood the beautiful brunette. Well the guy and the asian girl were there as well, but at first he truly didn't see the others, his eyes way too focused on Allison. Scott only got ripped out of his dreamy state, as the blonde guy spoke up.

“I thought Lydia made you quit.” He said with a slight british accent. Scott turned his head and saw Stiles stealing a cigarette out of a package, which seemed to belong to the british boy. He put it between his lips and lit it up with the lighter he got from the other boy as well.

“I thought Allison made _you_ quit.” Stiles remarked, mumbling over the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled his first drag of it. Scott wasn't sure if he should be surprised or scold himself for not seeing that coming. Troubled teenager guy was a smoker? Shocking.

“Well, it's my last pack.” He grinned proudly at Allison, who in return smiled softly back.

At first no one noticed Scott standing with them. It wasn't like anyone had expected Stiles to bring someone along. It was only when Allison turned her at to look for Lydia, who sill wasn't here, she saw Scott standing awkwardly behind Stiles. She gasped and slapped her best friend on his upper arm.

“Why didn't you say anything, you insensitive idiot!?”

Stiles looked dumbfounded to Allison. He only understood what she meant, as she was pulling Scott by his wrist in their circle. He didn't mean to do this, it really hadn't been on purpose. Stiles was just so used to being by himself, that he forgot about Scott. He looked guilty at Scott, not able to put an apologize to words, but hoped his expression told him everything. The other shrugged with a smile, thereby showing him he understood.

“He looked like a lost puppy, poor guy.” Allison pouted. Now that she got a better look at him, she was quiet impressed. He looked really cute with his brown eyes and uneven jaw, so she couldn't help but smile brightly at him. “What's you name?” She asked curiously.

“I'm Scott, hey.” He returned her smile, but forced himself to look at the others as well. He could clearly remember Stiles warning from last night and he didn't want to make him angry by getting to close to his best friend on their very first meeting.

The others were bewildered about Stiles bringing someone else in their group. It wasn't typical for Stiles doing something like that. One after the other introduced themself. First Allison, who was eager to get to know the handsome stranger, then Kira, who was always happy to meet new people and the last one was Isaac, who similar to Stiles wasn't to fond of making new friends.

“So how come you bring him along?” Isaac asked suspiciously. Stiles was close to freaking out, because as soon as he would say the words out loud, he couldn't take them back anymore. He had thought, Scott moving in his room had made it all real, but no, this made it real, telling his friends. He took another deep drag of his cigarette, before looking to the ground.

“Scott and Melissa moved in with my dad and me last night.” He simply said, because what else could he say? His friends starred with open mouths at him, trying to figure out if he was joking or telling the truth. Allison let her gaze wander to Scott, who was gnawing at his bottom lip.

“Oh my god, you're.. you're Melissa's son.” Allison smiled happily at Scott, what really confused him. Why was she happy about something like that? Scott desperately wanted to ask, but he still tried his best to stay on Stiles' good side, so he swallowed his curiosity down. Maybe he would get a chance on asking her some time.

“What the hell happened to your face?!” Kira suddenly squeaked, causing everyone to turn their attention to Stiles and look at his bruised cheek. He himself had almost forgotten about his incident this morning. He groaned and let his head fall into his neck.

“I fell.” He explained shortly and hoped his friends wouldn't ask further.

“You fell? You know that was my excuse whenever my dad punched the living shit out of me?” Isaac asked in disbelieve. Scott raised his eyebrows at that, but decided better not to say anything. Stiles bit the inside of his cheek and suppressed a growl. Damn Isaac.

“Well I did fall, okay?” The others looked sceptically at him and waited for further explanation. Stiles sighed deeply, knowing this story would Isaac hold onto him forever. “Scott sleeps beside my bed until my dad gets the spare room done. So when I woke up this morning, I forgot about him laying there and well, fell over him, face planting the floor, ass in the air. Happy now?”

For a few seconds it was completely silent until Isaac started to laugh loudly, holding a hand on his stomach and trying to catch his breath. Stiles closed his eyes, putting the cigarette between his lips and waited until his friend got himself together.

Isaac didn't get the chance to say anything else, because Lydia rushed around the corner, her strawberry blonde mane flying around her head. She stopped by Stiles' side, greeting everyone with 'sorry, I know I'm late', before getting on her tip toes to lean in for a kiss. But before Stiles could place his lips over hers, she drew back and eyed him warily. She smelled the cigarette on him, before she even saw it. Stiles leaned in again and Lydia stepped back, shaking her head.

“You reek of smoke.” She explained in a too sweet voice.

“Come on, Lydia. It's just the one.” Stiles said and bent down a third time, only for Lydia to turn her head. Her boyfriend grunted, but didn't back down this time. He chased her with his lips, getting her jaw, her cheek and her nose, before she started to giggle loudly and grabbed for his shirt to hold onto something. Stiles stopped briefly and smiled down at her, Lydia did the same and decided to be easy on him and pressed her lips against his. Stiles let out a content noise against her lips, kissing her firmly, but taking it short.

“You two are so sweet, I wanna throw up.” Isaac remarked, before taking a drag of his own cigarette and causing Kira to laugh beside him.

When they parted, Lydia's eyes fell on Scott, who stood sheepishly on Stiles' other side. Even though Scott had seen Lydia on the photos already, he was surprised by her looks. She was so small and though she wore heels, she barely reached Stiles' shoulder. Scott thought she was pretty and that she looked good at Stiles side. She wasn't even here for a minute and she already made Stiles smile, which Scott thought wasn't the easiest task.

“That's Stiles' stepbrother.” Allison announced eagerly with a broad grin on her face. Scott couldn't help, but smile as well. He had been so worried, he wouldn't find any people he could make friends with, but Allison, the girl he had shown interest in, before he even met her, seemed to be excited to get to know him and that was something Scott was happy about.

Lydia blinked and leaned her head forward as if she heard Allison wrong. Stiles was pressing his lips firmly together at his best friend's words, but he didn't contradict. Scott _was_ his stepbrother after all, well okay, maybe not officially, because their parents weren't married yet, but he was sure it was just a matter of time until Melissa and his father would take the next step as well. His girlfriend looked at him in question and he simply let out a short 'yep', confirming Allison's words and catching Scott off guard, because -again- he hadn't expected for Stiles to react that way. Maybe he had a wrong view of Stiles.

“I'm Scott.” He introduced himself to Lydia. “I moved here with my mom rather spontaneously.”

Lydia smiled at him and reached her hand out to shake Scott's. “Lydia, your brother's girlfriend.”

Stiles rolled his eyes beside Lydia. He liked his friends, but they were teasing little shits – all of them.

“Did you see Stiles' cheek already?” Isaac threw in with a grin on his face. _Teasing. Little. Shits._

The redhead brought her attention back to her boyfriend. She put a hand on his chin to turn his head, so she could get a look on the other side of his face. With a loud gasp, she observed his bruised cheek. Lydia usually wasn't like other girls, neither were Allison and Kira, but when it came to Stiles being hurt, she turned into full 'worried-mother-mode', as Stiles liked to call it. Isaac began to laugh again and that did it for Stiles. He loosened himself from his girlfriend, mouthing a 'don't worry', before turning to Scott.

“Let's get your books and other stuff.”

“Aw, come on, Stiles, baby, don't be like that.” Isaac taunted. Stiles ignored him. He made a hand gesture to Scott, showing him he should follow him. Scott said a quick goodbye to his stepbrother's friends, before jogging in Stiles direction, catching up with him. He watched Stiles flipping Isaac off over his shoulder, before he let the rest of his cigarette fall to the ground and stepped on it.

They walked into the busy hallways of the school. Most of the other people didn't show any interest in them, but one or another looked curiously in their direction. Scott figured that was the way it felt like to be the new guy, getting stared at and hearing harsh whispering behind his back. But maybe they were just talking about Stiles' huge bruise. He didn't know, but either way, Scott hated gossip.

Stiles led him to the secretary and said he he would wait outside. Scott nodded, before entering the office. He told the woman behind the desk his name and that he was new here. And after a quick look through the system on her computer, she gave Scott his new schedule and the books he needed, as well as his locker combination. He struggled with carrying all the books in his arms, but managed it after a few moments. The woman held the door open for him, so he could walk outside again, where Stiles was still standing as promised. He gave Scott an amused look over and snatched the schedule from where Scott had put it on his books. Stiles read it over and nodded slightly, before gesturing with his head, Scott should follow him.

“Biology is your fist, you've got that one with Lydia.” Stiles explained, while walking ahead of Scott. He hesitated briefly, before adding. “I'm sure she can take you to your next class.” He felt his chest tightening at the thought of Lydia and Scott sharing classes, well not just Lydia, but all his other friends too. The fear of losing the one's he loved to other people sat deep, but he tried to keep thinking rationally. He _had to_ think rationally, otherwise he would freak the fuck out. There was no reason his friends would turn their back on him, even if they'd like Scott. They still would be his friends, there was absolutely no need to worry about that. As long as Stiles kept reminding himself, he could go through that. He could share his friends with Scott. He could share his home with him. He could share his dad.

“Okay, so it looks like you almost always got one of us in class with you. For the ones you're alone in, I'm going to meet you after class and take you to your next, alright?” Stiles took a photo with his phone of Scott's schedule, so he would know when he had to meet up with Scott to help him find his way around school.

“Thanks, Stiles.” The other boy said, as they reached the lockers. Stiles shrugged it off, but this time Scott couldn't stop himself from saying more. “No, really. I know you struggle with getting to know people and stuff, but I'm really thankful you help me out here.”

Stiles stopped in front of Scott's locker and turned around to him. He started to play with his fingers, a nervous habit of his, while trying to figure out what to say next. He didn't want to be mean to Scott, he just didn't know how to protect himself from getting hurt and simultaneously preventing that Scott felt bad because of him. Stiles wasn't stupid, not at all. He knew he couldn't avoid bonding with him. So he tried his very best to open up step by step and he thought he did a pretty good job so far.

“We're gonna get along, okay? Just.. just give me some time.” Stiles finally answered and Scott started to smile, because that was the best respond he could have hoped for. And he was sure as well, that yes, they would get along. They already were.


	3. I'll Be Good

Scott's first school day went by quickly. He had been so nervous this morning, but Stiles' friends welcomed him with open arms, which made it all easier. In his first period with Lydia, he learned more about her and the rest of the group. She told him a few things about herself, just as he did in return. It was nice talking to her and he quickly noticed how smart and witty she was. It was the way she expressed herself and how she listened to everything he had to tell her and simultaneously took notes for class. Scott could clearly see, why she and Stiles were together. He was pretty sure, Lydia was way too clever for Stiles facade, he seemed to build constantly around himself. And Stiles definitely needed someone, who could put up with him intellectually.

Lydia told him about her friends. She was popular in school, but she only counted Allison, Kira, Isaac and Stiles to her real friends. All the other people, and Lydia was sure of it, she would lose contact with right after High School.

According to Lydia, Kira was a cute geek, who loved taking pictures of everything. So he shouldn't be surprised, if his face showed up on Twitter more often now, Lydia warned. She continued with Allison, telling him, she was a freak – a good kind, like hugging her friends to death on every occasion or getting overly excited whenever she watched Star Wars with Stiles. Allison was a person, who always made you laugh. And oh, she was in an archery club. Scott wanted to know more about the brunette, but he couldn't find the courage to ask for more information, so he let Lydia tell him things about Isaac. He was similar to Stiles a broken soul and closed himself up rather quickly, when he felt uncomfortable. He was claustrophobic and had been through hard times, but now that he lived with the Argent's, which Scott found out was Allison's surname, he was on his way to get better.

The only one, Lydia didn't say much about, was Stiles and Scott thought, that maybe she respected his boundaries way too much to gossip about him. She only had told him, she and Stiles were together since she'd been 14 and Stiles had just turned 15. And even though he was a little hard around the edges, she couldn't think of a better boyfriend than him. It was sweet, how she talked about him and Scott could see how much she loved him by the sparkle in her eyes, whenever she mentioned Stiles.

He had his second class with Isaac and that's where Lydia's words got confirmed. Isaac was indeed very restrained. They did talk a bit about a few insignificant things though and that's all what Scott could asked for. It was similar to third period. He had chemistry with Stiles together and even though he had found a seat beside his stepbrother, they barely talked. But Scott thought it was okay, because the two of them would have enough chances to talk to each other, considering they shared a room and all.

It wasn't until fifth period, he got someone to talk to again. Stiles brought him to his next class room, where he walked in without any expectation. That was before he saw Allison sitting in the back and waving at him as soon as she noticed him. His lips instinctively formed into a bright smile, while he made his way over to her, flopping down in the seat next to her. He greeted Allison with a soft 'Hi' and put his books on the desk.

“So, how's your first day at Beacon High?” Allison asked him with a friendly tone in her voice.

“Good actually, thanks. I was really nervous this morning, but now I'm okay.” He answered and gave her a smile afterwards. He didn't really know Allison, but there was something that drew him to her; like magnets or gravity.

They couldn't say anything else, because the teacher came into the classroom. He greeted them grumpily, looking like he hadn't gotten enough sleep the last night. He handed out some papers, saying that would be their project to work on for the next week or two and that they all should pick a partner for it. Allison and Scott instantly beamed at each other.

The first ten minutes, both of them read over the paper, their teacher had handed out to them and marked important things. But as soon as the teacher stopped looking over his students and occupied himself with some of his own papers, Allison and Scott ignored their work, both way to curious about the other to concentrate about something else.

Scott started their conversation and asked Allison about her unique hobby, Lydia had told him about. She said it was more of a family thing, her dad was even the leader of their archery club, and that she really liked it. Allison promised, she would take him with her some time, if he wanted. He agreed instantly, because if Allison liked it that much, he wanted to know more about it as well. He then told her about the sport he was playing. He had been on the lacrosse team of his old school and couldn't wait to get to know his new coach and team. Lacrosse was something he definitely didn't want to miss, so the first thing he had looked for was, if Beacon High had a lacrosse team as well. Allison listened to everything, before responding and telling him, that the coach had a weird sense of humor, but was one of her and her friends favorite teacher though.

They talked for a while, until Scott remembered his question he had desperately wanted to ask when they'd met.

"Hey, Allison. Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." She encouraged with a smile.

"Earlier, when Stiles told you who I was.. you seemed excited and happy about it and I just, I don't know, I wanted to know why that was." Scott hoped he didn't offend her with his question somehow. But Allison seemed like an open person, who didn't judge too quickly, so he had taken the opportunity and asked her about it.

Allison was a bit surprised, but she hadn't a problem with answering. “I met your mom a while ago, when I was at Stiles' and she had a sleepover at their house. She greeted me so nicely and seemed happy to met one of Stiles' friends, that I decided to talk a bit, even though Stiles was grumpy about it.” She rolled her eyes at her last words, the smile on her lips didn't leave though. Scott could picture Stiles perfectly; him sitting angrily beside Allison, while she talked to his mother. He actually had to suppress a laugh.

“Anyway.” Allison continued. “She started to tell me about her son, you. She told me how proud she was of you and your ability to make the best out of the worst situations. She said you enjoyed life and that she was proud of herself, too, for raising you to such a good man. It was just the way she talked about you, it reminded me of how Stiles had been, before his mother died.” Her expression got sad for only a few seconds, before her lips curled up in a genuine smile again. “I knew I wanted to met this boy, she was talking about. I even started working on a plan to get Stiles to wanting to meet you, so it would be easier for me to get to know you.”

Scott laughed about Allison's confession. He thought it was cute, how she got curious about him, just because his mother had been talking in a good way about her son. He was happy, too, that his mother thought of him that way. He always had a good relationship to his mom and it was nice to know he made her proud.

“Oh and Lydia and I might have checked out your Twitter account and I thought you're good looking in that lacrosse uniform.” Allison mentioned casually, as if she talked about the weather. Scott gaped at her and when she saw his expression, she started to laugh. She tried her best to suppress the noise, so their teacher wouldn't get suspicious.

"Well, send me a follow, I need to know if you're looking good in your sport outfit as well after all." Scott replied with a grin after he recovered from her words. Allison was impressed with his quick answer, she thought he fit perfectly in their group.

It went like that for the rest of their class. Both of them telling the other things about their lives and on a few occasions flirting with each other. It was like they knew each other for years instead hours. But they both felt so comfortable around each other, they didn't even noticed how long they had talked until the bell rang.

Meanwhile Lydia and Stiles were already heading to the cafeteria for lunch. Stiles had been anxious through the whole morning so far and he was so grateful for the lunch break now to calm his nerves down. He was constantly moving; bobbing his legs up and down, playing with his hands or rocking his chair back and for. In one of his lessons, he had been so worked up, he even got kicked out of class.

Lydia noticed, too, but didn't mention it, because she was used to it. Some days were better, others worse. And after she found out about Scott, she already knew this day would be harder again.

The couple went into the cafeteria, which was already full of many other students, but the table they always sat on was still empty. And that wasn't something, that calmed Stiles down, it made him even more nervous to not see his friends anywhere near. Deep down he knew he overreacted. It was as if there was someone else in his head, who had this fears and took control over his mind every now and then, but he still could think rationally along the other person in his head at those moments. It drove him insane.

After they got their food, they sat at the table side by side. Lydia started to eat, while Stiles was more picking through his food than actually eating it. His girlfriend put a reassuring hand over his and laced their fingers together that way, her small palm over his bigger one, warming and calming him.

A few minutes went by, but for Stiles, it felt like hours. Scott wasn't there as well and he constantly imagined him and his friends walking away from him. Because Scott was a good guy and Stiles was a moody jerk and if it was him, he would choose Scott a thousand times over himself.

Isaac and Kira walked in the room and Stiles spotted them instantly, because his eyes were constantly trained on the entrance of the cafeteria. Lydia squeezed his hand, when she noticed her other friends as well, as if she wanted to say 'see, they're still here'. The other two barely had sat down, when Allison and Scott were also coming in. Stiles relaxed a bit more, but he still could feel his nerves bubbling just underneath his skin, close to breaking out and sending him in one of his panic attacks, he hadn't had for over four weeks now.

Kira and Lydia asked Scott about his first day and he told them the same he had Allison earlier, but added that he was still nervous about his first practice with the team later. That's when Isaac explained, he was in the team as well and that he shouldn't worry too much about it. Scott believed it, because Isaac said it, the guy who wasn't interested in making friends or being polite just so you wouldn't feel bad.

Soon their conversation split and Allison and Scott were talking about their favorite food, after she had complaint about the stuff the school served today for lunch. And Kira and Isaac were arguing, which of their songs they should practice later after school.

Even though everything was as usual, except for Scott of course, Stiles just couldn't find peace. He was nibbling on his bottom lip until he could taste blood. And yeah, maybe Lydia was used to it, but she couldn't take it anymore. It felt to her, like she was watching him torture himself, which he probably did. She loosened her hand from his to place it on his shoulder instead.

"Come with me." She whispered in his direction. He looked confused for a moment, before Lydia sent him a hard look, telling with her eyes, he should just do what she said. And for once, he really did. They stood up without another word to the others and left the cafeteria. Scott frowned deeply in confusion, while Isaac rolled his eyes and then spoke up.

"They're so gonna fuck."

Scott's eyes bulged at the other boy's bluntness, but the others didn't seem to care, probably used to this kind of behavior.

"I don't know, he seemed kinda anxious today." Kira replied.

"Yeah, and sex is the cure. 10 bucks they're gonna do it."

"Make 5. I'm out of money at the moment and I now I'm gonna lose." Kira said and shook Isaac's hand to seal their bet. Scott could just blink about their nonchalant conversation.

"I already caught them like four times in the boy's room, always the last stall. I know I'm gonna win."

"Yeah, they're so romantic." Allison quipped in sarcastically. Scott started to laugh about their banter. That's a kind of friendship, he always wanted to have. Teasing, but loving.

While the others were gossiping about them, Lydia and Stiles found their way indeed into the boy's room. She locked them in the last stall, before turning to her boyfriend.

"You need to calm down, okay? I can't stand it, watching you torture yourself." Lydia started in a whisper, while raising her arms and circling them around his neck. Stiles own arms found their way around her waist and he used his grip on her to push her closer to his body.

"I'm trying.", was all he answered, because it was the truth and he didn't know what else to say. He'd tried everything he could to keep it all together the whole day and though he survived the day so far, it felt like this horrible feeling in his chest wouldn't stop so soon and that pushed him even more into his uneasiness.

"I know that, Stiles and I'm so proud of you. I just wish I could help you." Lydia's voice turned so sad, it hurt Stiles more than anything else. He lowered his head down, resting it against her forehead.

"You do, you always do. Don't worry." That was something Stiles always bothered the most, Lydia constantly worrying over him. He didn't want that for her and he had actually thought about breaking up with her, just so she wouldn't have to put up with all his anxiety. The thought alone had sent him straight into a panic attack. He had talked to his dad about it back then and he'd told Stiles, that this were things you did when you loved someone, that it was Lydia's decision and if she wanted to stay at his side despite his problems, he shouldn't take that decision from her. So he didn't. Because she chose him on her own and maybe because he was too selfish to actually let her go.

“I'll be good.” He added.

Lydia put a little smile on her face and turned her eyes on his. She didn't know what she was looking for, but when his lips curled upwards, she couldn't help but giggle quietly, because they both knew what would be coming next. She stretched herself on her toes to press her lips against his. Stiles responded immediately, moving his lips in sync with hers, while tightening his grip on her body. Lydia stroked her fingers through Stiles' hair, which was slightly curled at the back of his neck.

Stiles hummed happily, his heart beginning to pump wildly and this time not because of his anxiety. He turned around with Lydia still in his arms until her back hit the wall of the stall. His girlfriend grinned into their kiss as soon as he let his hands wander along her body. Over her sides, down to her hips until he reached the hem of her dress at her thighs. One of the reasons he liked her in dresses; easy access, which he needed more often than he should admit. He stroked over the material a few seconds long, before pushing his hands underneath. Lydia already melted under Stiles' touch, even though he was barely touching her.

Their kiss turned deeper. Stiles explored Lydia's mouth with his tongue and she happily respond to it, while her hands made their way down over his chest. She felt the fingertips of her boyfriend trailing along the the edge of her panties and then further to her center, until he found that little bundle of nerves between her legs. He started to rub her slowly through her underwear and Lydia let out a relieved sigh, because yeah, she did that to help Stiles get rid of his bad thoughts, but she also had been horny as hell since she woke up this morning, having the whole night dreamed about Stiles fucking her senseless.

She let her own hand wander down to his crotch, palming the slight bulge in his jeans with soft pressure. Stiles wondered how a simple touch like that could still feel so special and damn good after so many times of sex. But he had a feeling, Lydia made everything special no matter what.

He desperately wanted to enjoy her touch longer, wanted to explore her whole body. But well, they were in a toilet stall at the moment and even if they could take their time, it wasn't really the right place. So Stiles didn't waste any time anymore and gripped Lydia's panties to pull them down her legs. He stuffed the material in the back pocket of his jeans, so it wouldn't lie on the dirty floor. His girlfriend was happy with the quick change of events and did the same. She hurriedly opened the button on Stiles' jeans and then pushed them down to his thighs along with his boxers, taking his half-hard cock in her hand.

“Wait no, you don't-” Stiles couldn't finish his sentence, because Lydia had already dropped down to her knees. Normally, he wouldn't ever deny a blowjob, but just as he didn't want her clothes on the dirty floor, he neither wanted for her to be down there. His girlfriend on the other hand didn't mind one bit. Her knees hit the floor and she immediately leaned forward to take the tip of his dick between her lips. She set everything on it to make him fully hard within seconds, rubbing her tongue along his flesh, while bobbing her head slowly up and down. Stiles moaned loudly. He would never get used to the wonderful feeling of Lydia's full plush lips on him. Pressing his lips tightly together to suppress another groan, he placed one hand against the wall in front of him and the other on Lydia's head, treading his fingers in her strawberry blonde mane. Lydia hummed contently around him, sending delicious vibrations through his dick. He respond by tightening his grip on her and pushing his hips forward reflexively. His girl looked up to him, grinning encouragingly around his cock.

Stiles starred into big green eyes and he actually had to swallow at the sight. Lydia sitting like that in front of him on her knees, looking up to him with such an innocent expression on her face, even though both of them knew what she had in mind at the moment wasn't the slightest bit innocent. Lydia braced her hands on her knees and then leaned further forward. Her lips slipped down on Stiles until she could feel him hitting the back of her throat, but she didn't stop there. She held her breath and sunk down further, making Stiles gasp and groan above her. She was way to good at that.

They had experimented through the years, on some things they both agreed never doing again, other ones, like Lydia swallowing him completely down, were on their 'do as often as we can' – list. It had been one night, when Lydia had set a bet with Stiles she could get him off in less than five minutes, where she had tried to take him in her throat the fist time. He'd lost it after embarrassing four minutes. Since then, she had practiced on every occasion and now she was an absolute pro at it.  
Stiles started to move along her movements, drawing his hips back, only to meet Lydia's face by pushing forward again. He could get lost in the warm wet feeling. His fingers stroked through her hair for a moment, before taking a firmer grip again, when she sucked harder than before. Stiles closed his eyes and let his head fall into his neck, enjoying Lydia's mouth on him. His thrusts got a little faster and messier, which caused Lydia to gag a few times on his length. She drew back, taking him one last time deep down. She knew how much her boyfriend loved whenever she sucked him off, but her knees started to hurt and after every blowjob, she always looked messy; wild hair, lipstick smeared mouth and teary eyes. It didn't matter to her, except when they were somewhere public, like now in school.

She drew back completely and whipped her lips with the back of her hand. Stiles helped her up, before pushing his lips on hers again. Lydia once heard Erica talking about how her first boyfriend didn't want to kiss her after she'd blown him, Stiles wouldn't even think of such a thing. He could be rough and hard and wild during sex, but he had never and wouldn't ever threat her badly.

Lydia felt Stiles' fingers between her legs, stroking along her wet slit and pushing two of them inside her. “You're ready?” He asked simultaneously

“Yes, definitely. Now could you please just..”

Stiles huffed out a quiet laugh at Lydia's inpatient respond. He took his time taking his fingers out of her and sucking them between his lips, cleaning every amount of her delicious juices. Lydia growled at him, knowing damn well he took it slow on purpose. But Stiles wouldn't tease her any longer, because he couldn't wait any longer himself. “Yeah, come on, hop on.”

As soon as Lydia felt his hands on her thighs, she jumped up. She slung her legs around his waist, while he held her up with help of the wall her back was pressed against. Stiles looked down and lined himself up with her hole, before slowly sinking inside her. Her tight warm walls stretched around him. Lydia moaned at the feeling of Stiles finally pushing inside her, clawing at his shoulders just so she had something to hold on to. They were both still fully clothed, but that didn't make it less intimate.

Stiles watched himself sink in, but as soon as he was fully inside, he looked up again and searched for Lydia's eyes. For a second, it was like time stopped and Stiles wondered how in hell this moment could feel so special, when they were in a fucking toilet stall. But Stiles didn't want to think about that now, he just wanted to enjoy it. So he closed his eyes and leaned forward to bury his face in his girlfriend's neck, where he then started to kiss and nib along her skin. He made sure though, to not leave any marks behind. Because as much as he liked doing that, he knew Lydia didn't like it when they were in public.

He started to move, pushing in and out of her wet walls in gentle movements, allowing her to get used to his cock filling her. But Lydia was impatient. Sometimes she enjoyed it slow and soft, like on a Sunday morning, now though, she needed him. Like really needed him and she knew he felt the same. The only reason he held back was for her comfort.  
So she leaned forward as well and traced her tongue along his earlobe, before whispering. “Take me, Stiles. Hard.”

Stiles breath almost stopped at Lydia's words. She said out loud, what he was wishing for as well. That was something he liked about their relationship. They both always said what they wanted from the other, it made everything so much more easier, because guessing could only bring you so far.

Lydia felt one of Stiles' hand leave her thigh, he moved it to her head instead, where he grabbed her hair again in a firm grip to pull her back from his neck. He looked at her with blown pupils and then pressed his lips on hers without a second thought. Lydia moaned into the kiss, when she felt him instantly picking up his pace His thrusts got rougher and deeper and that's exactly what she wanted and he needed. His fingers buried themselves in the soft skin of her thighs, while his other hand tightened in her hair. She let out another pleasure filled sigh at his roughness, while treading her own fingers in his hair as well, pulling on the longer strands to urge him on. And it worked. Lydia's responsiveness caused him to take her harder, pulling his hips back until only the tip of his cock was inside her and then slamming right back into her heat.

With every harsh thrust of his, Lydia's back hit the wall behind her in a steady rhythm. She was sure, if anybody stood outside that door, they would hear it, but that didn't worry her at the moment. The only thing she could concentrate on, were Stiles' rough palms on her skin and his hips meeting hers with every push forward.

Their kiss broke, when both of them could only breath into each others mouths anymore, too far gone to move their lips in sync with the other. So Stiles mouthed along her jaw instead. His hand in her hair loosened their grip and wandered down over her shoulder to her front. His fingers circled around her throat instead, holding her firmly, but not tight enough to actually choke her, just so he could angle her head in the direction he wanted for his lips, and for her to let go and give herself over into his hold.

Because Lydia loved being taken care of. She was always the one in control; at school, because she was smart and witty, at home, where her mom did everything for her she wanted and in her relationship, because Stiles was damaged and he relied on her help. It was only in her sex life, where she could let go of her control and instead give it over to Stiles, where it was just her and her boyfriend. There was no one, she needed to pretend to be someone else, no one she needed to take care of.

So she enjoyed every kiss and bite Stiles left on her jaw and neck, enjoyed the light pressure around her throat and Stiles' heavy thrusts inside of her, filling her over and over again without stopping. Her legs grew tired, but she tried her best to hold them place. Stiles noticed her struggle though, so he slung both of his arms around her, to turn them around. He fumbled with the lock and when he got the door open, he went out of the small stall, still buried deep inside her and his jeans slipping his thighs further down with every step. But in the end, he managed to carry Lydia over to the counter, where he sat her down. They didn't care, there could walk someone in on them any moment, Lydia even liked the thrill of it, but at the moment they were just both desperate to get off.

When they were both set, they started right there, where they left. Stiles had one arm slung around her back, while his other hand disappeared between Lydia's legs to rub on her sensitive spot. Her own hands were both placed on his biceps, where she sunk her nails into his flesh, while he started his hard movements again. His dick was sliding in and out of her wetness, hitting delicious spots inside her that made her shiver. The roughness made her dizzy, but a good kind. Her toes started to curl and her moans got louder. Stiles groaned as well and searched for her lips again. Their kiss was hard and wet and messy, with Lydia stroking her tongue along his and him biting in her bottom lips every now and then.

“Fuck, you're filling me so good.” Lydia mumbled in between kisses. Dirty Talk was always a sign, she got closer to her climax. She started to say the naughtiest things without even noticing herself and Stiles absolutely loved it. He was really talk-active himself, that's why phone sex always worked so good between them, too.

“You like it like that, don't you? When I fuck you rough and hard.” He replied right back, his lips still plastered on hers, when he grabbed her harder, so he could increase his speed even more. Slapping sounds and moans echoed through the bathroom. And the only thing Lydia could do, was nod and repeat the word 'yes' over and over again, before she tumbled over and came. She bit hard into Stiles' lip and her fingers were scratching his arms and that was all it took for Stiles to follow her right after. He emptied himself inside of her, what he enjoyed every time since Lydia had decided to take the birth control pill and dumping the condoms instead.

Stiles' stinging lip brought him back to reality after his mind blowing orgasm. He licked over it and could taste blood. Lydia really didn't do half things. They both looked at each other, before starting to laugh. But Stiles laugh changed instantly into a groan, when Lydia's walls clenched around his oversensitive cock, which made _her_ laugh even harder. Stiles drew slowly back and grabbed for the paper towels to his right. He helped Lydia clean up and then took care of himself, before slipping his boxers and pants back up his hips. Stiles put a small kiss on Lydia's lips, ignoring the burning sensation on his lip, and then slung his arms around her to take her off the counter.

As soon as she stood on her own feet again, she straightened the wrinkles in her dress. She took Stiles' hand and together they made their way to door. But before they could open it, the door flung open, revealing Isaac in the doorway and a few feet behind him the rest of their group.

“Aw, you're done already? We were just coming to check in on you.” Isaac's cocky voice greeted them. Stiles rolled his eyes and didn't comment the other boy's words. He led Lydia around Isaac and out of the bathroom to join his other friends. Allison winked at him, knowing, like everyone else, what had happened in the room. It had been obvious before, when they just walked out of the cafeteria, but now they appearance confirmed everyone's thoughts.

“So Kira, looks like you're owing me five bucks.” Isaac said, when he joined the group again.

“Really, Isaac? A bet? Again?” Lydia rolled her eyes, while talking.  
“You have no prove.” Kira tried to talk herself out of the bet. She knew she would lose, but it was always fun making bets with Isaac and arguing afterwards.

“No prov- what the hell, Kira. Stiles has fucking scratch marks on his arms. Their hair look like they ran through a storm. Even Lydia's lipstick is gone and you know I got you on that one, 'cause she's always wearing lipstick, except when Stiles sucks it right off her lips with kisses.. or when _she_ sucks on his dic-”

“Okay, yeah, I got it. You win.” Kira interrupted her friend, before he could finish his sentence. Lydia blushed deeply and hid her face in her boyfriend's arm. Stiles smirked at her, but put his arm around her shoulder to pull her further into his side. Kira stuffed her lost money in Isaac's waiting hand. He grinned at her and sniffed on the money like the idiot he was.

They turned to walk down the hallway and just as Stiles thought the sex topic was done, Allison squeaked loudly and then fell into a loud laughter. Everyone looked at her as if she lost her mind, until she went up behind Stiles and pulled Lydia's forgotten panties out of his back pocket. His eyes grew big and Lydia screeched beside him. Isaac was the loudest one to laugh, but the others joined him just as amused. Even Scott, who had tried the whole day to stay on Stiles' good side, couldn't help but laugh at the turn of events.

“Didn't know you where into wearing panties, Stiles. And there I was, thinking I'd known everything about my best friend.” Allison teased.

Stiles huffed and snatched the panties out of Allison's hand, who was wiggling her eyebrows at the couple in front of her. Lydia took her underwear from Stiles, before hiding behind him and using his form and the lockers to her left to pull her panties back on without anyone noticing, well anyone other than her friends for that matter, who were still chuckling over the situation.

“Well, Allison. We're all sharing our underwear here. Not my fault you're not involved, but maybe Scott can help you out on that one.” Stiles smirked after his reply. Scott on the other hand started to cough violently, after he choked on his own spit. And even though Stiles had just exposed him like that, he was kinda happy about it. Because it felt like he was part of their group. They all teased each other and it would have hurt more, if Scott would have been the exception.

* * *

 

Scott was on his way home, after an exhausting, but successful first lacrosse practice. Isaac had him brought along and had the whole practice a watch over him to help him, when needed. He was so grateful for that, it meant a lot to him, especially because Isaac did that all on his own, not because Scott had asked him to.

As soon as he had met the coach for the first time, he understood what Allison meant with 'weird sense of humor, but cool though'. He seemed to be that kind of teacher, who says what he thinks. And the Coach seemed to think the strangest stuff.

He'd gotten to know the team and on the first look, they all appeared nice and supporting, and he hoped it would stay that way. One thing for sure, Scott had had a lot of fun and while he had played with the others his favorite sport, he'd kinda thought it wasn't so bad here after all. His new friends, if he could call them like that already, were all nice to him and his team mates seemed pretty okay, too.

After practice, Isaac had asked him if he wanted to come to band practice as well. And though he was curious about Stiles' band, he'd declined and had explained, he didn't want to get on Stiles' nerves too much. He had to show him around school the whole day and then at home he would have to share a room with him, too. The last thing Scott could do, was giving Stiles some space and at least letting him have his band by himself.

Scott used the navigation on his phone to find his way home. Stiles was heading straight after school to the Argents, where they were practicing, so he had to find the way on his own. His mom had texted him as well. She had said, he didn't need to worry about the rest of their stuff at the old house, because she had used her day off to bring everything important to the Stilinksi house. Scott had rolled his eyes after he'd read the message, because it was so typical for his mom to do everything on her own, even though there were enough people around to help. But he was also happy, all their things were moved into the new house now.

When he arrived, he parked his bike beside his mom's car. The Sheriff didn't seem to be home yet and Scott was kinda glad about it. It wasn't like he didn't like Noah or something like that. It just had been a stressful day and it would be nice to only have his mother around for a while, just like it always had been. He entered the house and found his mom in the living room, running through one of the many boxes, which where now stacked along the walls.

“Hey mom.” He greeted her. She quickly turned around, it seemed like she didn't hear him coming through the door. Melissa smiled at him and walked over to her son. Scott circled his arms around her slim shoulders in greeting and sighed contently. It felt like coming home and as stupid as it sounded, he just needed a hug from his mom at the moment.

After they parted, Scott helped his mom unpack a few of their things, while he told her about his adventurous first day. He let out the part of Lydia and Stiles having sex in a toilet stall though, instead he spoke more about Allison. Melissa could clearly see how fond her son was of the girl and she was happy, he found new friends and accepted the new chapter of his life.

When they took a break, Scott let himself fall on the sofa. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and looked through his notifications, nothing really special until he saw that Allison had followed him on twitter. He straightened himself in excitement and opened the app on his phone. A smile formed on his lips without him noticing, while he looked over Allison's side. He pushed the Follow button, before scrolling down, where he saw a new post.

Scott looked on the post for over a minute without doing anything, before he hit the Reply button.

At first he wasn't sure, if he really should flirt openly with her, especially because of Stiles. But he couldn't think about Stiles' feelings for the rest of his life and he really wanted Allison to know he liked her, so if he would get punched for it, at least Allison knew he wanted to get to know her better. And when Allison replied with a gif, where a woman wiggled her eyebrows, he got confirmed in his actions.

He actually was excited about school tomorrow, just because he would see Allison again. The girl, who was constantly on his mind, even though he barely knew her. The girl, who was his stepbrother's best friend. The girl, he would ask out on a date, as soon as they knew each other better.


	4. The Run And Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you know, Stiles is in a band. I was looking for a (real) band with catchy music, but deep lyrics and then I thought of Twenty One Pilots. I think a few of their songs fit perfectly for Stiles, so I'm going to use them for his band. I named them Twenty One Packs to mix it up a little. Anyway, just to clarify, I don't own any of the songs or the lyrics or whatever you might thing of.  
> And I know, this took me forever, but at least it's a long chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

When Stiles came home after practice, he found his dad and Melissa in the kitchen. Music played in the background, while they were cooking together. It seemed like they had fun together and Stiles thought it was nice seeing his dad happy like that, even though the sight had shocked him at first. He still had to get used to Melissa in the house. Seeing her doing all the stuff his mother had done was weird and some times it hurt, but his dad was happy and he loved Melissa, so he would try to make it work. That didn't mean he had to watch all that though, so he went unnoticed out of the doorway and to the stairs.

He found Scott in his room, lying on the mattress on the floor, while typing something on his phone. He didn't even notice him at first, way to focused on whatever he was doing at the moment. It wasn't until Stiles let his backpack fall down beside his desk, that Scott gasped and sat himself up with his phone pressed to his chest. Stiles shot him a weird look, before flopping down on the chair.

“So, how was practice?” Scott asked to bring his hammering pulse down. He had been texting with Allison and even though he'd decided to not let himself be intimidated by Stiles, he was quiet nervous how he would react as soon as he found out Scott had an interest in Allison.

“Good.” Stiles answered in a nonchalant voice.

Scott had been on Stiles' band twitter site, well he had been on everyone's site for that matter. He'd found them all on Allison's one and he had been curious, so he used the opportunity to check all their profiles. In the end he had send everyone a follow, too. He hadn't been sure about how Isaac and Stiles would react, but it would have been strange to only follow the girls, so he swallowed his pride and connected with everyone. Isaac even followed him back, just as Kira and Lydia. It was weird, how social networks could say more about people, than those people themselves, because he found out so much about his new friends by only looking over their profile. He felt a bit like a creep.

Anyway, he had found out, that Stiles' band was called Twenty One Packs and they had quite the fan-base for such a young band. Probably because of all the high school girls. Scott had followed them, too. He was actually really curious about their music, but sooner or later he would find out, he was sure of it.

“Mine was good, too. Coach and Isaac helped me a lot.” Scott continued, as if Stiles had asked him the same question in return.

“Yeah, Coach's cool.”

Stiles hadn't talked to Scott since his almost-panic-attack. He didn't really know what to say, but Scott did all the talking anyway, so it wasn't that much of a struggle. He was glad though, Lydia would be sleeping over tonight. Maybe that would make conversation easier.

“Our stuff is now here, too. Mom got it, while we were at school.”

“All by herself?”

Scott was surprised about the question. It almost sounded like he was really interested in what he had said.

“Yeah, she always does that. It's terrible. She wants to take care of everyone and everything. I think it comes from her job.” Stiles only nodded, because that was something he really could imagine. Melissa appeared to be that kind of a mother, who always made sure their kids had everything they needed, without spoiling them too much though.

When Stiles didn't answer him more than just a nod, Scott turned his attention back to his phone, replying to another text message from Allison. As soon as they had started to tweet each other, they had decided to exchange numbers, so they could text more privately. And since then neither of them had stopped texting. Scott was so excited about this girl. He'd never felt a connection to someone like he did with Allison.

“Um, Stiles?” Scott started again. Stiles was hunched over his desk and had started to scribble something down on a notepad. He made a humming sound, but didn't turn around.

“So.. Allison and I, we're partners for a school project.” Scott stated and swallowed afterwards. He still could remember Stiles' reaction, when he had asked for Allison's name the other day. He knew it was a touchy subject, but he didn't want any surprises either, so he'd decided to tell Stiles right away.

Stiles stopped writing and looked to Scott from over his shoulder. He raised a brow and held one hand up in question, as if he wanted to say 'so what?'.

Scott cleared his throat in an awkward manner and scratched his head. “I just.. I don't know, I wanted to let you know, because she's your best friend. I don't want you to think, I do something behind your back.”

Which was the truth. Scott knew, Stiles had some fear of losing people or something, which he thought was kinda reasonable after his mother's death. The last thing he wanted to do, was upset Stiles. So he would try and make everything as open and clear as he could. He didn't want for Stiles to find anything out from another person. Not that there was anything to find out. But as soon as Scott would find the courage to ask Allison on a date, he would tell Stiles as well. Because things like that never ended well, if they got kept a secret.

Stiles was suspicious and reassured at the same time. On one hand it was really good to know, Scott would tell him such things, on the other hand was his uneasiness he always felt in such situations. It had been Scott's first day at school, his first day with his friends and he was already so close to everyone, especially Allison. Stiles really had to get used to that, but at the moment he felt okay, his little breakdown at lunch almost forgotten. So he answered Scott with a simple 'okay', because he didn't know what else to say.

Scott was a bit confused, because he had thought Stiles would react a different way. He wanted to ask why Stiles was so calm about it, but in the end decided against it. He didn't want to give Stiles a reason to distrust him. He wanted to say something else though, but got interrupted by his mother's voice calling from downstairs.

“Boys, dinner's ready.”

Stiles' heart clenched. He didn't like the sound of it, like they were a big happy family, like Melissa would be his mom. He noticed, this would get way harder than he had thought. He wanted to do this for his dad so badly and it felt good to see him happy like that, but that didn't change the other feeling he had. The bad feeling, which overwhelmed him, whenever he saw Melissa smiling at him. He hated this. He hated his dysfunctional mind, his fucking fears, his constant distrust.

With a sigh he got up from his desk and shoved his notepad under some of his school books. He and Scott went down the stairs. That was something, that felt foreign, but was kinda okay. It was easier to get used to a new brother than a new mom, even though Melissa had said she didn't want to replace his mom, it wouldn't change the fact, she would be the mother of this household.

Scott went into the kitchen and just as Stiles set his first step into the room as well, the door bell ran. His head whipped around and a smile formed on his lips. His chest felt instantly lighter. With quick steps, he went to the front door to open it.

Lydia greeted him with a grin on her face. She let out a surprised giggle, when Stiles pulled her into his arms. Whenever he greeted her with a hug instead of a kiss, she knew he needed comfort. She slung only one of her arms around his middle, because in the other she held her little dog Prada. Lydia buried her face in his chest, while mouthing a quiet 'Hi'. He replied, before letting go of her and placing his lips over hers for a quick kiss. Lydia smiled up to him, which sent butterflies right through his belly.

He invited her in and she let Prada down. The dog knew her way around the house, because Lydia often brought her along, especially when she planned to stay longer at Stiles'. Lydia dropped her purse down beside the door and shrugged off her jacket simultaneously. She hung it beside the others and then slipped off her shoes, making her a few inches smaller. Lydia felt so comfortable in this house, even more than in her own. And she was always welcome here, too. The Sheriff was glad Stiles had Lydia by his side, so he didn't care if she wanted to sleep over or even stay here for a few days. She had a good influence on him and that was all that mattered for Noah. He and Stiles once had a quick 'please use protection and don't knock her up' conversation and since then he put his trust into both of them, without regretting it so far.

Stiles lead Lydia to the kitchen, telling her they just wanted to start eating. He was so glad, she came before dinner, he had a feeling she would make it a lot less awkward. His thoughts got confirmed, when they both went into the kitchen. The sight of Melissa, his dad and Scott sitting at the table like a family frightened him to death, but with Lydia by his side he felt somehow calmer, as if he could go through this without wanting to stab his eyes out.

Melissa looked a bit surprised at the girl's sight, but instantly stood up to greet her. “Hi, I'm Melissa.” She said. She was almost sure, this was Lydia. She had never met her, but Noah had told her a bit about her. And even though she had never seen a picture of her or got an other description than 'well, she is kinda small, I don't know' (she scolded Noah silently for that lousy description, because this girl was gorgeous), she instantly knew this could only be Stiles' girlfriend. There was just something between them you couldn't see, but therefore strongly feel.

“Nice to finally meet you, I'm Lydia, Stiles' girlfriend.” The girl answered politely in her natural husky voice. She had been just as curious to meet Melissa as the woman had been to meet Lydia. But thanks to Stiles' habit of sneaking out of the house to drive to Lydia's, whenever Melissa had stayed over, they had never gotten the chance of meeting.

“Come sit with us, we were just about to eat.” Melissa said with a smile, before walking over to the cupboards with the plates in it. She knew her way around the kitchen, because she had already cooked dinner for Noah and herself before.

Lydia thanked her and then sat down on the chair she usually sat on and which was surprisingly free. Stiles flopped down beside her.

“Hey Scott, good evening Sheriff.” She greeted the others, who said hello in return with smiles on their faces. Melissa came to her side and put the plate and flatware on the table in front of her. She said her thanks a second time, before looking over the food Melissa had cooked.

“That smells delicious. I haven't eaten since lunch.” Scott choked on the coke, he was currently sipping on at Lydia's words. No one but Lydia and Stiles seemed to notice his little slip gratefully, though he wasn't speared of a cocky smirk of Stiles and a grin on Lydia's face. His first day at school had been more adventurous than any day at his old school. Sneaking off during break to have a quick fuck in the bathroom was something he never had experienced before. His life had been quite boring so far. He had a feeling that would change now.

“I made chicken parmesan. Noah said it's one of Stiles favorite food and I'm trying to make points with him, so..” Melissa ended her sentence with a waving hand gesture, before sitting down at the table again. Lydia laughed at her words, before saying, that food would be a good way to impress him, because he loved nothing more except for music. And sex, but that she didn't say out loud. Stiles just ignored them both.

They all put food on their plates and started to eat. When Stiles didn't say anything, Noah gave him a light kick with his foot under the table. Stiles twitched at the unexpected nudge and hit his knee on the table. He growled lowly and rubbed his knee, while glaring at his dad. The Sheriff pointed at Melissa with his head, giving Stiles the hint, he should finally say something to her. Stiles muttered something under his breath, but raised his eyes to Melissa's.

“It's good, I like it.. thanks.” Even though it sounded a bit forced, he meant it. The food was good, definitely better than what they had eaten, when they were alone. Melissa thanked him and that's all that got said for a while. The joyful mood at the beginning quickly turned into an awkward and uncomfortable silence. Everyone occupied themselves with eating, so the silence got filled with clicking noises of forks and knives.

At some point though, Lydia couldn't take the silence anymore. She never liked strange moods like that, so she tried to think of a good topic to start a conversation with. Lydia was good at talking. If someone could change the awkward moment, then it would be her.

"Hey, Ms. McCall." She said to get the woman's attention. Melissa shook her head with a smile and told Lydia to call her 'Melissa'. The girl nodded with a grin, before continuing.

"Thanks Melissa. So I was wondering, if you heard of the small fundraiser party tomorrow?"

"Mhm." Melissa confirmed with a hum, while swallowing a bite of chicken. "I saw a few posters about it today. I actually wanted to suggest going there." She glanced at Stiles and looked for a reaction after her words. She could imagine, he wasn't so keen of spending time as a family, but his face didn't show any of his thoughts. Melissa guessed no reaction at all was better than a bad one.

“We definitely should go together. My mom's managing the whole thing, so I don't know if she'll be able to hang out with us, but you're surely gonna meet Allison's and Isaac's dad. Oh and the Sheriff always needs to attend those kind of things anyway, so you better get used to it, Sheriff Lady.” Lydia was actually really excited about all this. It was kinda strange sitting like a family at the table, eating and talking together. She had never experienced something like that herself. Her parents were divorced, so it was only her and her mom alone or herself and her dad, when she visited him. It felt nice though, to see a family building in the Stilinski house. She was sure it would help Stiles as well, even if he wasn't so happy about the situation right now.

“Okay, it's settled then. It's gonna be nice to get to know some people in my age around here. I don't think it's normal I only met teenagers so far.” Melissa joked with a smile in her voice.

“Well, you definitely met the coolest teenagers, if that's any comfort.” Lydia grinned at the woman in front of her, before putting another fork full of noodles between her lips. She pointed down on her plate and added. “Food's really good.”

“Thanks, Lydia.” Melissa said gratefully. She really liked Lydia so far. She was witty and talk-active, and she could imagine, the girl kept Stiles on his toes. Thinking of her kind-of-stepson, she turned her gaze in his direction again, before speaking. “I hope you're coming too, Stiles.”

“Mhm.” He muttered in confirmation without looking up, his eyes trained on the food on his plate, the fork stuck in his mouth. Lydia rolled her eyes beside him, but laid a calming hand on his neck. She stroked over his curling hair and over the skin with her fingertips. Stiles loved whenever she did that, so it didn't surprise her, when she felt him relax beside her. Melissa couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of her. These two were adorable.

“He's gonna be there anyway.” Lydia clarified. “Twenty One Packs will be playing there. I'm so excited, I love watching them on stage.”

“Your band? Hey, that's great. Then I finally get to hear your songs.” Melissa was truly excited about this new information. She had been curious about their music since Noah had told her about Stiles' band. She had always been really into music, had loved to dance to it back in her teens and she even had taught Scott how to play the bass, when he had been younger. But Scott had found his passion more in sports and that was okay with her too, as long as he was happy.

Stiles didn't reply as usual and that's how it went for the rest of their dinner. Mostly Lydia and Melissa were talking about every possible topic they could think of, Scott quipped in every now and then and both Stilinskis stayed silent most of the time. Stiles, because he didn't want to talk and Noah, because he simply enjoyed this new constellation of them being a family. He liked the sight of Melissa and Scott sitting with them at the table, it looked right.

After dinner, the three teenagers went to Stiles' room to work on their homework, while the parents cleaned up. Lydia laid on her stomach on Stiles' bed, a book in front of her as well as a few papers, she wrote something on every now and then. Stiles sat at his desk, all kinds of books were lying open and he read alternately through each one of them and then wrote something down. For Scott, it looked like he had his own chaotic organization, because as messy the desk looked and as strange it was for Scott to watch someone work on four different homework at the same time, Stiles clearly didn't mix anything up or got confused. Which Scott found really impressive.

Because Scott was already struggling with only one of his homework. He sat on his makeshift bed and pondered over his chemistry work. Lydia helped him out every time she caught him with furrowed brows or a helpless expression. Scott was happy about Lydia's presence. At first he had thought, he would get ignored or even kicked out of the room, so the couple could be for themselves, but Lydia had been nothing but nice to him the whole time.

At some point Prada joined them and Scott let out a perplexed sounding noise. He hadn't seen the dog before, but Lydia quickly explained to him that Prada was hers and she often brought her along, when she slept over. The dog barked once and wiggled her fluffy tail, while standing in the doorway and that's when Lydia realized Prada needed a walk. Neither of the three had noticed how quickly time went by.

They stopped their work to take Prada for a walk and after that they made themselves comfortable in their beds. Scott was snuggled in his blankets on the floor, while Lydia and Stiles fought for the pillows until Stiles finally lost. Lydia giggled, but took mercy on her boyfriend and gave him his 'special' pillow back, the one he always needed, otherwise he couldn't sleep. Scott heard a smooching noise, when Stiles pressed his lips on Lydia's for a goodnight kiss and Scott wondered if he and Allison would ever get to the point of cuddling together under a blanket and kissing each other to sleep. His lips formed into a smile, because yes, he would make sure of it. With that thought in mind he closed his eyes and dozed of into a world where he and Allison were already together and loved the living hell out of each other.

* * *

The next morning began relaxed, but ended up rather stressful. Stiles woke up with his face pressed into Lydia's breast and moaned in agony at the loud beeping noise of the alarm. He slung his arms tightly around his girlfriend, not ready to get up yet, so he ignored the annoying sound and shoved his face deeper into the cleavage of Lydia's breasts.

Scott on the other hand couldn't take the blaring sound of the alarm anymore and sat up to turn it of. When his gaze fell onto the couple on the bed and he instantly woke up from his foggy mind. Would he ever wake up normally in this room? Sure, it wasn't so bad as waking up to someone falling on you, but the sight of Stiles burying his face in Lydia's boobs wasn't something he wanted to see. Not because he was prude or anything, but simply because it was so hard not to look at Lydia's exposed skin, where the neckline of her top had slipped down. If it wouldn't have been for Stiles' head covering her, he was sure he would have seen more than he should have. And Stiles wouldn't have liked that one bit. Scott sighed. He had a feeling, he would get into trouble with Stiles at some point, simply because of innocent things like that.

It didn't make it better, that Lydia walked practically naked, in nothing, not even panties, but one of Stiles' shirts, into the room, forgetting about Stiles' new roommate, after her shower. She shrieked loudly, Scott cried out as if someone had startled him to death, before covering his eyes and Stiles yelled at Lydia to 'cover the fuck up'.

After that the tension between them was thick and sour, even Melissa and the Sheriff were noticing it, but for once didn't ask about it. Stiles stayed mad for the whole way to school, but at some point calmed himself down, after Lydia explained to him – for the sixth time- that it had been an accident and she simply forgot about Scott being in the room as well.

The school day went by smoothly. Scott and Stiles met up after every class, just like the day before, so Scott wouldn't get lost, though he already knew the halls of the school better and didn't feel quite as helpless as before. Allison joined them whenever she could. She wanted to spent more time with Scott, and Stiles couldn't really say something against it, when they were at school, so she totally took advantage of the situation.

At lunch the group talked about the fundraiser party. In fact, everybody talked about it. Everyone was happy and excited whenever something like that got organized. Beacon Hills was a small town and there wasn't much teenagers could do, so they took every opportunity to go to events like that. But it wasn't just the younger ones, the adults were just as excited about it. It was always nice to spent time with the whole family at these fests.

After school, the group split up. Kira, Isaac and Stiles were practicing their songs one last time, before they would play on the party later. Afterwards they made sure everything was set up. Isaac and Stiles were packing their stuff into the Jeep, while Kira posted on their band's twitter profile, that they would be playing during the fundraiser party.

Allison, Lydia and Scott drove back to the Stilinski house. Scott felt kinda strange driving home without Stiles. It felt like going over to a friend's house, while said friend wasn't even home. But Scott lived there now too, he needed to get used to that. Allison had brought some of her clothes with her and decided with Lydia what she should wear, while Lydia worked with the stuff, she had already at Stiles'. In the end, Allison wore one of Lydia's tops and a plaid shirt from Stiles over it. She didn't feel like dressing up much and just wanted to be comfortable. Lydia felt the same way, so she wore a short cut floral dress with her usual heels, which was Lydia's interpretation of comfortable.

Scott had been downstairs the whole time, letting the girls be for themselves for a while and waited for his mom and Noah to come home. Noah actually needed to be present as the Sheriff, but he said it would be totally okay, if he stayed with them the whole time, because it was more of a image thing, than actually working and looking after everyone. When he came home, he even changed his working clothes into casual ones, so Scott figured those town parties went by rather calmly and peacefully.

In the afternoon, all five of them made their way out of the house to attend the party. Scott told Allison, that he thought she looked really pretty, even in Stiles' clothes and she blushed in return and thanked him with a beautiful smile. Allison normally wasn't a girl, who blushed at boys or was speechless around them, but Scott was just so.. different. She felt really nervous around him, but not a bad kind of nervous, more like thousand of butterflies were flying in her stomach. She felt the same way, Stiles had described his feelings for Lydia when he fell in love with her back then. Allison knew, she didn't fall in love with Scott yet, but there was much potential of getting there as soon as they would spent more time together.

When they got to the party, there were already a lot of people with drinks or food in their hands. There were many booths, a few where kids could play games at, others where you could buy sweets and some simply for food and drinks. It looked similar to a funfair, though there weren't much rides except for a rather small Ferris Wheel. The stage, where Stiles would be playing on later, stood central, so you had a good few on it wherever you stood. At the moment there was a DJ playing his music to fill the whole place with melodic sounds.

Melissa liked the atmosphere of this place. Everyone was in a good mood, there were people dancing, kids were running around and laughing together and others were just talking to each other. It looked like a happy scene out of a movie, only that Melissa was right in there with everybody else. She guessed, that's how it felt like finally finding the place where you belong to.

They walked along the streets, Allison and Scott trailing slightly behind, while Lydia, Melissa and Noah were going ahead, looking over every booths and greeting people the Sheriff knew, but Melissa had never seen. She kinda felt like being in High School all over again. Some people were only looking after them, but others actually asked, if Melissa really moved in with Noah.

She liked small towns, but gossip and the fact, that everybody knew exactly what was going on in her life, was the downside of it. But she stayed friendly anyway. Telling the people, who asked, that yes, she lived now with the Stilinskis, yes, they were doing great and yes, Stiles was getting along too. It was kinda annoying, because she really just wanted to have a great time with her new family, but she was sure the whole situation was even harder for Noah and Stiles, so she didn't complain.

Melissa suppressed a sigh as another man came in their direction, she was already preparing for another round of 20 questions, but as soon as he greeted Allison with a kiss on the cheek, Melissa quickly understood, that this was the girl's father. They introduced each other and Scott shook Mr. Argent's hand as well in a polite and respectful manner.

Allison's dad looked like a total badass. He may not had the biggest muscles, but the hard features on his face were enough to make Scott gulp. Plus Allison had said he was the head of their archery club, so he totally could kick Scott's ass, if he didn't like the sight of him and his daughter together. But for now, it seemed like he was save.

Allison smirked at him, as if she knew exactly what was running through his mind and just to provoke him, she slung her arm around one of Scott's and then called for her dad, just so he would turn around and see them like that. Scott nearly had a heart attack, but when Mr. Argent didn't comment their closeness, he could finally relax and actually enjoy Allison on his arm.

At some point later on, Kira, Isaac and Stiles were joining them again, as well as Kira's parents. Lydia and Stiles greeted each other with a kiss like they always did, but that was all Stiles managed to do. He was so nervous and excited about their gig. It wasn't their first one, they often played at town parties like this one or in bars, but the nervousness never lessened. Stiles walked in front of his dad and Melissa, but facing both of them and walking backwards, while babbling constantly about random stuff, just so he would get rid of all the energy, that had build up during the day.

Noah was always happy, whenever Stiles got like that, because it reminded him of the Stiles he had been, before his wife had passed away. His son had never sat still for even a second and had always been a bundle full of energy, but after his mother's death, he got calmer, but more in a depressing way, than in a healthier way. But on occasions like this, Stiles' ADHD always managed to come to surface and though it was exhausting to put up with Stiles, the Sheriff liked this side of his son better.

Melissa was surprised about Stiles' behavior, because she had only ever seen him as a moody teenager. It was really nice seeing him with a constant smile on his face, and it was also really entertaining, whenever Stiles was about to bump into someone or trip over his own feet, because he was still walking backwards to look at his dad. Noah always patiently guided him around people or put a hand on Stiles' arm, when he stumbled, and all these were so simple gestures, but they warmed Melissa's heart.

Allison and Scott still stayed more in the background, so they could talk to each other more privately. It wasn't like they talked about things no one was allowed to hear, but it was nicer to get to know each when your parents weren't listening in.

They spent the whole afternoon chatting and at some point eating something together. The adults talked about every kind of stuff to get to know Melissa better, while the teens stuck in their own conversation. It was nice they all had kids the same age. They all knew what kind of a struggle it was to raise a moody teenager and meeting up on parties like this one was easier as well with their kids being friends.

Later in the evening, Kira, Isaac and Stiles needed to head back to the stage to get ready for their gig, after Stiles got a good luck kiss from Lydia on his bruised cheek, Isaac a tight hug from Allison and Kira a thumbs up from her parents.

Another girl from school had entertained the crowd with her singing and playing guitar, so they were already a few people in front of the stage, which didn't really calm Kira's anxiety down. She was always nervous before playing in front of people, but Isaac and Stiles knew how to handle her nervousness by now.

The others made their way to the stage, too. The parents of the three of them would never miss a chance to hear them play, just as Allison and Lydia always wanted to support them by just being on every single one of their concerts as well. Melissa and Scott didn't know what to expect, but they were both curious, so they absolutely didn't complain, when the Sheriff directed them into the little crowd.

„Hey guys, so were Twenty One Packs and we're gonna play some for you now.“ Stiles greeted with a charming smirk on his lips and earned loud applause for it. Technically everyone in Beacon Hills knew them, because yeah, small town and all. So it was usually the same audience they were playing in front and though Stiles really liked knowing who he was playing for, he would like to get out of Beacon Hills more often for a gig. They had played two times out of town and both times it had been a complete other experience, than here where everyone knew the other.

Stiles looked over the familiar crowd until his eyes locked with Melissa's. He had almost forgotten, she was there, too. She smiled up at him and he didn't know, if that made everything worse or better. He took a deep breath, a panic attack was the last thing he wanted to have on stage right now. His gaze wandered further to his dad, who gave him a thumbs up, but it was Lydia's smile, that calmed his nerves down. Everything felt like in slow motion as her full lips curled into a lovely smile, that was only for him. He smiled back and nodded once, before raising his gaze to the whole crowd again.

Isaac clapped his sticks three times together and Stiles tightened his grip on the guitar and waited for Kira to play the first chords. After that, his thoughts stopped running. His mouth opened and he sang the first verse of his song 'The Run and Go' without having to think about it. That's what he loved about music, he could just get lost in the sounds of it.

 

_I can't take them on my own, my own_

_Oh, I'm not the one you know, you know_

_I have killed a man and all I know_

_Is I am on the run and go_

 

Lydia smiled, when she heard the first chords of the song. She couldn't help but to sing along right away. Allison felt the same, she instantly moved her head along the music. Stiles' dad had a proud smile on his face. Sometimes the lyrics of some songs pulled at the strings of his heart, but he was always so happy to see his son play.

 

_Don't wanna call you in the nighttime_

_Don't wanna give you all my pieces_

_Don't wanna hand you all my trouble_

_Don't wanna give you all my demons_

 

Melissa had her arm slung around Noah's back, as she heard Stiles sing for the first time. His voice was soft and rough at the same time and while the sounds of the instruments were delightful, Stiles sounded vulnerable and sincere. Scott was surprised to hear Stiles' voice like that, too. The guy, who intimidated him constantly with his possessiveness, stood now there and opened up through his lyrics more than he did in a normal conversation.

 

_You'll have to watch me struggle_

_From several rooms away_

_But tonight I'll need you to stay_

 

Isaac drummed along the song, loving nothing more than to close his eyes and play with his band mates. He often could relate to the songs Stiles wrote. He had had a rough start in life as well and though he would never wish anyone such a struggle, it helped him to know, there were other people going through hard times as well.

 

_I am up against the wall, the wall_

_Oh, I hear them coming down the hall_

_I have killed a man and all I know_

_Is I am on the run and go_

 

Melissa couldn't hide her feelings, while she listening to the first song of Twenty One Packs. She had never thought, a teenage band could stir such emotions within her, but there she was, clinging to every meaningful word Stiles sang.

 

_Cold nights under siege from accusations_

_Cerebral thunder in one-way conversations_

 

_Don't wanna call you in the nighttime_

_Don't wanna give you all my pieces_

_Don't wanna hand you all my trouble_

_Don't wanna give you all my demons_

_You'll have to watch me struggle_

_From several rooms away_

_But tonight I'll need you to stay_

 

Stiles repeated the last sentence a few times more and then ended the first song with Isaac hitting one last time on his drums. The little crowd of Beacon County applauded in front of them, which did things to Stiles' ego, he couldn't even think of. There was just no better feeling, than having people stand in front of you and cheering and singing along your own written songs. 

They started right away with the next song and all three of them enjoyed their time on stage. There was absolutely nothing, that freed their mind more than music and they were all grateful for every opportunity they could share their music with other people.

Melissa's heart filled with pride, while she listened to her stepson's music. It was the same with Scott, whenever she watched him play on the field. Maybe Stiles and her didn't have the best relationship yet, but that didn't change her motherly feelings towards him. At the very first time she had met Noah's boy, she had wanted to pull him into her arms to smooth his pain away. She just couldn't bare hurt souls, especially when they were so young.

After over an hour, Stiles announced their last song, which was called 'We Don't Believe What's On TV'. It had turned dark and neither of the three on stage could make out any of the faces in front of them. But that didn't matter, as long as they could hear them singing along, they would be happy.

Stiles switched his guitar with an ukulele. He liked the happy sound of it, so at some point he had learned how to play the ukulele and then started to use it for a few songs, just like this one. He sang the first verse, while playing the instrument.

 

_We don't believe what's on TV_

_Because it's what we want to see_

_And what we want we know we can't believe_

_We have all learned to kill our dreams_

 

Every single one of his songs meant much to Stiles, but this was one of the many he had written with Lydia in his mind, so it was always something special, whenever he played the song. And though he couldn't see Lydia right know, he knew she felt the same. She usually sang along to every song, but whenever he played one he had written for her, the look on her face told him how proud she was of him. And that's all what he ever wanted, to make his dad and Lydia proud.

 

_I need to know_

_That when I fail you'll still be here_

_Cause if you stick around, I'll sing you pretty sounds_

_And we'll make money selling your hair_

 

Melissa's heart clenched at the lyrics of the song and that not for the first time this evening. Stiles had such a special way to express himself, like purposely using ' _when_ I fail' instead of 'if'. It was as if he only waited for making another mistake or disappointing the people he loved, like he _knew_ he would fail.

 

_I don't care what's in you hair_

_I just wanna know what's on your mind_

_I used to say I wanna die before I'm old_

_But because of you I might think twice_

 

Noah pulled Melissa closer to him. He could clearly see the emotions crossing over her face and he understood her completely. When he heard Stiles' songs for the first time, it felt like his heart broke into pieces. His son had barely talked about his feelings that time and hearing him sing so sadly about it, had been a hard pill to swallow. Now though, he knew what kinda songs he wrote, so he was prepared for every new one.

 

_What if my dream does not happen?_

_Would I just change what I've told my friends_

_Don't wanna know who I would be_

_When I wake up from a dreamer's sleep_

 

_I need to know_

_That when I fail you'll still be here_

_Cause if you stick around, I'll sing you pretty sounds_

_And we'll make money selling your hair_

 

Kira didn't had a part in the song, but she sang quietly along, while Isaac let all his energy out on the drums and Stiles' sang his voice raw. She loved playing with them, it was nice though, to just watch every now and then too. Stiles sang the chorus one more time, before gesturing to the crowd to sing with him and that's what they did.

 

_I don't care what's in your hair_

_I just wanna know what's on your mind_

_I used to say I wanna die before I'm old_

_But because of you I might think twice_

 

Louder than ever, the crowd sang together with Stiles the end of the song, all their family and friends included. That kind of support meant so much to them, they couldn't even express it in words. Stiles tried it, though. After they finished their last song, he told all the people in front of them how lucky they were to have them all here and getting the opportunity to play for them. Beacon Hills replied with cheering and applause and that's when all three of them said their goodbyes, before leaving the stage.

The crowd cleared up, when the stage went dark. Noah and the rest of the group were going to the side of the stage to meet up with the other three. Kira squeaked happily as she saw her parents and then run to them for a hug. They were both really proud of her and to see how happy Kira was with playing in the band, warmed their hearts.

Isaac got a broad grin and a brofist from Chris, while Allison pulled him into an embrace. They lived together since Isaac was ten and Allison couldn't be any prouder to have such a talented little brother. There were still many downs, but moments like this proved how much better he was doing.

Stiles' dad was just as proud as the other parents. He ruffled his sons sweaty messy hair, before pulling him into a hug with one arm. Lydia came to his other side and kissed his upper arm, while beaming up to him. She knew how much his band meant to Stiles and to see him getting lost in the music on stage, spread always happiness in her chest.

“Dude, that was totally awesome. You guys are like so good.” Scott smiled at the three band members in awe. He couldn't help, but share his thoughts with them. Never had he thought they were this good. After all they were just a school band. But the music was really good and the lyrics deeper than in some songs from professional artists.

“Thanks, man.” Stiles was the one who answered and that was enough for everyone to be surprised. Stiles felt really good after their performance, his whole appearance screamed happiness and satisfaction, and for once he didn't see a reason to hide his feelings behind a sarcastic remark or brooding.

* * *

Later the teens sat all together around one of the few fireplaces. Lydia sat on Stiles' lap, one arm around his neck and shoulders, the other resting upon one of his arms, which were both wrapped around her small figure. His beer bottle stuck between Lydia's thighs, because he had both of his hands on her.

Allison and Scott weren't that obvious, but they sat close beside each other. They had both rested their hands on the wooden bank they sat on and as soon as they accidentally brushed their hands together, they intertwined their pinky fingers. Kira, who sat beside a stoned Isaac, had noticed the little gesture immediately and had winked at Allison with a playful smile on her lips, just as Lydia had wiggled her eyebrows at them. Allison had only rolled her eyes at them, but couldn't hide her happy smile. 

Sure, she and Scott barely knew each other and she definitely didn't want to rush anything, but the alcohol in their systems made them a little braver and they were only -sort of- holding hands. It was nice, so they both went with the situation without putting too much thought into it.

“This is so nice. We never had these kinda fests, where I lived before.” Scott shared with a little smile on his face. Everyone, except of Isaac, who was way too occupied to stare into the flames of their little campfire, turned their attention to Scott.

Stiles didn't really want to know about Scott's old life.. well, he _was_ curious, that was just in his nature, but as always the little back and forth game between not wanting to get too close and satisfy his curiosity crept into his mind again. But the alcohol actually relaxed him, so he decided to reply to Scott, before all his doubts would overtake again.

“Sounds kinda boring.” He answered simply.

Scott huffed a little laugh and nodded. “It was. Nothing ever happened there, so I'm actually grateful for moving here.”

“Well, we're happy to have a new face around us.” Allison grinned up to Scott, who in return smiled softly at her.

“Yeah, we can all see how happy you are, Ali.” Lydia giggled quietly, while Allison rolled her eyes at her. Stiles murmured soundlessly, but Lydia reassured him with a kiss to his bruised cheek. Scott didn't miss the reaction, but he was way too happy about Lydia saying out loud what he had thought the whole evening; that Allison liked him and enjoyed his company.

But it wasn't just Allison, the rest of the group got quickly used to Scott being around. Of course Stiles still struggled a bit, but all in all everyone liked Scott and didn't mind him hanging out with them. He was good company and his happy aura made it hard to not like him.

“I'm soooo huuuungry.” Isaac complaint suddenly and slung his arms around Kira. He buried his face in his friend's shoulder and made a sobbing noise.

“Yeah, because you're stoned again. Dad will rip your head off.” Allison remarked with a scrunched up nose. She never liked it whenever Isaac decided to smoke weed. Of course she knew it was a bad habit of his, but she knew as well, that he could do way better if he really wanted.

“Nooo, I need my head.”

Stiles pressed his lips tightly together to suppress a laugh. He thought, Isaac was actually really adorable when he was drunk or stoned. Maybe that's why he was usually his partner in crime, when it came to partying and having a fun night out. Though not all of their nights had ended in a fun way, because both of them didn't know their limit, especially when it came to harder things than just alcohol. But Stiles had promised Lydia to take a step back. She had reasoned with him, it wouldn't do anything good to his dad, if he kept partying all night and took drugs with Isaac. Stiles knew she was right and with a little help from her, he managed to get himself together on that matter.

And as soon as Stiles had decided to stop, Isaac went with it, too – mostly. He smoked weed every now and then, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. The thing with his dad had thrown him off really badly and as most people, he thought he could get rid of his problems by doing drugs and drowning himself in alcohol. He'd been lucky to have his friends, cause if it weren't for them, he probably still would live the same lifestyle as before.

“Isaac!” Chris Argent's voice roared from behind them. Isaac's head whipped around and he clung himself tighter to Kira, who couldn't do anything other than sigh. She petted his arm, before pushing him softly away from her. He would have to get through this by himself.

“No, save me, Kira!”

“Told you so.” Allison sang, when she saw her father approaching them.

Chris was followed by Melissa and Noah, who were walking hand in hand behind the furious father. Noah only shook his head with a sigh, because this wasn't really something new. They weren't naive, they knew whenever their kids went to parties, they would be drinking, even though they're underage. But Noah always thought that was something every teenager had to experience, so he never was too strict about it. It was only when Stiles had crossed the line by starting doing drugs and coming home after midnight within the week, that he had kept Stiles on a short leash. And Chris Argent saw it the same way. He didn't accept, Isaac leashing out like that. Troubled past or not.

“Get up.” He said shortly, while taking a hold of Isaac's upper arm to pull him to his feet. He swayed a bit, but quickly found his balance again. Chris loosened his grip as soon as Isaac stood. Chris once had triggered a panic attack, when he and Isaac had fought and when the boy had turned to leave, Chris had pulled him back a bit too roughly, which had Isaac instantly triggered into an attack. That was something, the father never wanted to repeat again. He still hadn't forgiven himself.

“Chris.. Dad, I'm really not that-” Isaac started. He didn't always call Chris 'dad'. Not because he didn't see him like that, but more because his actual dad had been a total bastard and Isaac didn't really connect good memories with the simple term 'dad'. He had explained that to Chris at some time and had gotten nothing more than complete understanding. Now though, he couldn't hope for much understanding, especially because that wasn't the first time they had the don't-do-drugs conversation.

“Stop it, right now. We're not gonna discuss this here. Allison, come on, we're going home.” Chris did a waving hand gesture to amplify his words, while Isaac stood beside him, letting his head hang low.

“But dad, I wanna stay a bit longer. I'm sure I can crash over at Stiles'. Lydia's staying there, too.”

“No. Not with Scott being there, too. Don't think I haven't seen the two of you making eyes at each other the whole night.”

“Oh my god, way to go, dad.” Allison buried her face in her hands and battled hard against her upcoming blush. What was her dad thinking?! Scott and her barely knew each other and even if it wouldn't be that way, it wasn't like they would be alone. Lydia and Stiles would be there, too and even more important, Melissa and the Sheriff as well.

Allison sighed, but stood up. “I thought you would think better of me.”

“You know I do. Now take your brother to the car, I'm gonna be there in a sec.”

Though she wanted to complain, Allison did as she was told. She knew it wasn't easy for her dad. He and her mom were divorced and both her and Isaac were living with their father, so he had to take care of them all by himself. It wasn't like Allison did much trouble, but she knew Isaac alone made problems for the both of them.

Chris turned to face Melissa and reached a hand out for her to take. He shook it shortly, before pointing with his head in Scott's direction. “I didn't mean to offend you or your son. I just don't want them.. getting close, when they only met each other.” He explained.

Melissa laughed it off and made a fitting hand gesture. “Don't worry. I get it and I'm totally on your side.”

“Alright then, it was nice meeting you, Melissa.” Chris turned to Noah after his words and shook hands with him as well. “You should keep her, Sheriff.”

“I'm planning on it.” Noah replied with a big smile on his lips, while shaking hands with Chris. After they said their goodbyes, the couple went to the rest of the teens. The Sheriff looked over to Stiles with Lydia in his lap. She was already halfway sleeping on his shoulder, playing lazily with the collar of his shirt.

“We should head home, too. Come on, boys.” Noah gestured for them to stand up. Scott stood up and went over to his mom's side, who petted him lovingly his back. She was really happy, he found some friends here to hang out with. It would have totally broken her heart, if he would've sit here all by himself. But Stiles seemed to slowly accept the fact, that Scott was now a part of his family and let him therefore be a part of his group of friends, too.

Stiles took the beer bottle out between Lydia's thighs and drowned the rest of the now way too warm liquid, before dumping the bottle in a trashcan beside them. He waited for Lydia to climb off his lap and then stood up as well. They laced their fingers together and Lydia rested her head tiredly on her boyfriends upper arm, while yawing.

“Hey Kira, you want us to drive you home? Your mom left already, but your dad, well you know him.” The Sheriff said to the girl with an amused smile. Kira sighed and rolled her eyes, because yeah, she knew her dad. He was always overly excited to meet up with people and on occasion like this one, he was unstoppable. He talked to half of the town and enjoyed everyone's company. Of course that wasn't something bad, but for a teenager, who easily got bored by seemingly never ending conversations, it was just annoying sometimes.

“Thanks, Sheriff.” Kira started, while standing up. “But I think I better go looking for him or he won't come home until late the night, because talks to god knows who.”

Kira said her goodbyes to her friends, before walking away from the group to go looking for her dad. The others made their way to the Sheriff's car. Stiles let his Jeep there, because his dad never liked it, when he drove after drinking, even if it was just a short ride like this one. Though it was already the second time he drove with Noah, Scott still thought it was kinda cool driving in a police car. He felt like a kid all over again.

When they were home, Lydia and Scott head straight up to Stiles' room, while Stiles himself quickly walked the dog. Lydia could barely hold her eyes open, while she made herself ready in the bathroom. She lazily brushed her teeth and washed her face, before putting her hair in a messy bun and exchanged her clothes into one of Stiles' shirts. She liked sleeping in his clothes, but guessed it was a girlfriend-thing to do. Stiles told her once though, that he liked seeing her in his shirts as well and as soon as she knew he absolutely didn't mind she wore his clothes, she couldn't stop doing so. Whether it was a shirt for simply sleeping or wearing one of his hoodies for school.

She crawled into Stiles' bed and fell asleep right away, while Scott made his way into the bathroom. It had been a really good day for him, even though it had started a bit roughly. But the party this afternoon and evening had them all cheered up. And, the most important thing, he had spent the whole day with Allison. They finally had the chance to really share a few things about each other in a comfortable place, even when their parents had been present as well, but they didn't mind that at all. Well at least until Mr. Argent had said no to a sleep over. Though Scott guessed it really was a bit too soon for that, even if they wouldn't have done anything anyway.

Scott was all tucked in in his blankets, when Stiles came back from his walk with Prada. He had gone straight to the bathroom to brush his teeth, before walking in his room. He saw Lydia already fast asleep in his bed and couldn't help but smile at her, until he noticed Scott watching him. Stiles cleared his throat and turned to his closet. He stripped down to his boxers and only slipped another shirt on. He felt way too warm to sleep in his usual pajama pants, so he stayed in his boxers and slid in bed beside his girlfriend.

“Night.” Stiles muttered quietly, so he wouldn't wake Lydia, after turning off the lamp on his nightstand.

“G'night.” Scott returned and smiled, because it was the first time Stiles actually wished him a good night first.

Scott fell rather quickly in a deep slumber. He had wished to stay up a little longer to think back of his day with Allison and what they had talked about. His tiredness came over him though, so he buried his face deeper into his pillow and surrendered.

Stiles on the other hand couldn't stop his thoughts from running. Sleeping was an issue he had always had. As a kid it was his ADHD, that kept him restless at nights. The disorder wasn't so bad anymore as it used to be, but the constantly running thoughts hadn't stopped. Especially in situations like that.

He had accepted, that Melissa and Scott were living here now, that his dad probably would marry Melissa some day and that Scott was a part of his group of friends. But that didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it or that it was easier for him now.

Half an hour long, he laid in bed, turning from one side to the other, but just couldn't find any sleep. He sighed deeply into the darkness of the room, before pushing the blanket off his body, carefully so he wouldn't wake Lydia.

He opened the drawer on his nightstand and grabbed his last pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and stuffed it between his lips. Taking the lighter and his phone, he made his way out of the room and down the stairs. He tried to be as quiet as he could. The last thing he needed now, was his dad waking up and finding him smoking again.

Stiles patted along the hardwood floor to the front door, but stumbled on his way over a rug. He caught himself on the couch and knocked his foot on the coffee table beside it. He hissed out a 'fuck!' and wiggled his foot, as if he could shake away the pain. Prada raised her little head from the cushion on the sofa and looked to Stiles, seemingly interested in what he was doing.

The room was dark, the only light shining through the window was the moon, but he still could make out the edges of the rug, he had never seen before. He stroked his foot over the fluffy material, while frowning down at it. Melissa must have put it there some time, after he went up to sleep. What he didn't know was why Melissa would start to decorate the house with her things this late in the night.

Prada hopped down from the couch and walked with a wiggling tail over to Stiles' foot on the rug. He sighed over his cigarette, which was still stuck between his lips and bent down to sling his free hand under her tiny torso to lift her up in his arms. He walked over to the front door, deciding to ignore the visual changes, that would slowly but surely happen in this house bit by bit.

What Stiles didn't notice, was Melissa standing in the kitchen, making herself a tea. She couldn't sleep, the events of the day still running through her head, so she had decided to go down to drink a tea, because she could always sleep better afterwards. And when she was downstairs her glance fell on one of her moving-boxes and she had decided to unpack it a little, while waiting for the water to boil.

Melissa did notice Stiles, after she heard a tumbling sound in the living room. She had checked through the open door, what had caused the sound and saw Stiles figure standing there. When he went outside, she walked over to the window to check, if he left for a walk, but she found sitting outside. She turned around from the window and went over the sofa to grab the blanket lying over the back of the couch, before making her way to the front door as well.

Stiles sat on the porch swing, the cigarette between his pale and bony fingers. He was still in his boxers and the air around him got a little colder, but he actually enjoyed the slight breeze. His bare feet on the ground were swinging him gently back and forth. Prada was curled around herself on his lap, halfway sleeping and enjoying Stiles' other hand, which was stroking through her soft black and white fur behind her ears. He starred into distance, seemingly lost in his thoughts.  
  
Melissa closed the door softly behind her, before putting the blanket around her shoulders and stepping up beside the porch swing. She had thought about letting Stiles alone, but truthfully she didn't want to. It was a good opportunity to talk to him or maybe just enjoy each others company. And if he didn't want that, he could still ask her to go.  
  
"Does your dad know?" Melissa asked quietly. A little smile formed on her lips, when Stiles head whipped startled around. It seemed, he didn't notice her before.  
  
"Just so I won't accidentally tell him, you know." She added with a friendly tone in her voice. Melissa wouldn't tell Noah, if he didn't know already. She didn't like the sight of Stiles smoking, but it wasn't her business. Not really. As much as she wanted to take care of him, she couldn't forbid him anything. There weren't there yet, he wouldn't take her seriously. She had a feeling, Stiles would do what he wanted anyway, no matter who tried to talk sense into him.  
  
Stiles firstly frowned at her words, but then figured Melissa probably didn't want to get on his bad side and therefore tried to be nice to him. He averted his gaze again and starred into the darkness at nothing peculiar. Alt-J's 'Dancing In The Moonlight' played softly out of the speakers of his phone, filling the silence along side the chirping noises of crickets in the distance.  
  
"He thinks I quit." Stiles finally answered. "Just like Lydia. And just like I thought myself."  
  
Melissa hummed in understanding, before replying. "Bad habits die hard."  
  
When Stiles didn't say anything else, she stepped closer and silently asked, if she could sit with him. At first he didn't respond, but Melissa soon had learned, Stiles sometimes needed a bit longer to make up his mind and find his answer. And just as she had thought, he finally nodded and shrugged simultaneously after a few more seconds of waiting. Melissa sat down beside him, not too close though, but enough so she could reach Prada's little head to pet it. The dog's eyes opened for a moment to observe who joined them, before closing her eyes again and burying her face between Stiles' thighs and her own tail. Melissa took her hand to herself again to snuggle deeper into the blanket.  
  
Stiles took a drag of his cigarette, holding the smoke inside until his lungs started to burn. He let the smoke out, causing it to whirl around in the air. Neither he or Melissa said anything for a while, both listening to the music in silence, while letting their thoughts running freely through their minds.  
  
"I really enjoyed listening to your music. The songs were so catchy, I still have some of them stuck in my head." Melissa told him after a long moment of silence with a quiet chuckle in her voice. She quickly turned serious again though. "You wrote all those songs by yourself, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah." Stiles answered right away with the cigarette between his lips as he was about to take another drag. Melissa nodded knowingly and pulled her legs up on the swing to cross them underneath her. Her bones were cracking under the effort, but she managed to sit comfortable though, while Stiles was still swinging the bench.  
  
"They sound like you, kinda catchy and happy, but with deep and dark lyrics. Yeah, that fits you." Melissa was smiling again after her words, but it was more of a sad smile. She had never met such a broken soul as Stiles. And she worked at the hospital, where she saw many hurt people, but never like that. "And you looked happy on stage as well, but every word you sang sounded genuine and like it meant so much to you. You're just like your songs. Or your songs are just like you."  
  
Stiles didn't know what to say. He had never liked it, when people behaved like they knew everything about him, even though they didn't know him. But right now, it didn't change, that Melissa was right. He was happy on the outside most of the times, but on the inside he was constantly fighting with himself. He was on his way better though. There were times, where his chest felt light again, where he forgot all the heaviness. Mostly when he was with Lydia or his band or when he and his dad spent the evening together, doing random things.  
  
"I wanted to ask you something." Melissa spoke up again, after another moment of silence. "I was unpacking a few of our boxes yesterday and actually just now, and I found our pictures in one of them.. I didn't know what to do. Would it be okay, if I hang them on the wall next to yours? I wouldn't touch any of the other photos."  
  
"Yeah, that's okay." Stiles answered instantly. Melissa lived with them now, he couldn't forbid her to set up properly in their house. That wouldn't be fair, even if the changes weren't easy for Stiles.  
  
The soft sounds of the music filled the silence again. This time it wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. It was actually nice talking to Melissa and he didn't want to admit it, but he liked her, he really liked her and that was something he absolutely didn't want. But both McCalls were slowly creeping into his life and he just knew at some point he couldn't imagine living without them anymore and then he would be fucked.  
  
With a sigh he let his head drop in his neck. He closed his eyes and took another puff of his cigarette. He didn't know why he was damaged like that. Isaac had lost so many people, too and he wasn't as bad as Stiles. Sure, he had his problems as well, but he seemed to get along with his mess. Maybe he should ask his friend for advice, because Stiles didn't like living like that. He wanted to enjoy every day of his life like he used to.  
  
"You know, I know you don't want to act like you're my second chance to have a mother again." This time it was Stiles, who started talking, which caught Melissa slightly of guard, but she quickly recovered from her shock and listened to the boy beside her. "But I'm afraid you actually _could_ be _._ ”  
  
Melissa looked over Stiles' face. His eyes were still closed and he looked almost relaxed like that. But she knew better. He had just admit to her, he was afraid of might getting used to her as his mother. No, Stiles couldn't be relaxed after those words.  
  
"I can't lose another mom. It's bad enough to know my dad's a cop and he could die any day at work without me even knowing."  
  
Noah had told her, Stiles rarely talked about his feelings and thoughts like that. She absolutely didn't know why he had decided to tell her all this, but she definitely would try to show him, it was okay to open up to her.  
  
"Everyone could die any day, Stiles."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't make me feel better." He replied dryly, while opening his eyes, just so he could roll them at her. Melissa actually had to suppress a laugh. Stiles maybe didn't share much of his feelings, but he definitely spoke out loud what he thought. She liked that.  
  
"What I wanted to say is, you can't calculate life. You love Lydia right?"  
  
"Yeah, I do." The third answer he gave right away without thinking about it this night. Melissa couldn't believe she was actually counting.  
  
"And you enjoy every moment with her, don't you?" Stiles frowned, but nodded. "So tell me, if you could go back to the time you both got closer to each other, would you change your decision? Would you rather be without her, so you wouldn't have to worry about losing her?"

This time Stiles didn't answer immediately. Not because he wasn't sure _if_ he should answer, but because he wanted to think about _how_ he should answer. Even though he knew, he wouldn't want to live without Lydia, he considered Melissa's words. But in the end he told her what he had known right away anyway, that no, he would never decide against Lydia. Melissa had expected such a reply, so she continued.

"See? Every moment you enjoy with people you love are so much more worth than giving up on them. Having good memories with loved ones is so important, because the people we have lost continue living through those memories. Your endless love for your mom keeps her alive.”

Stiles starred at her openly. One thing was sure, she had his complete attention. His eyes looked tired and sad, but there was a new glint in his eyes, which gave her hope he actually took her words to heart. With a smile she shrugged off the blanket and instead laid it around Stiles' shoulders. He watched her closely with a vulnerable expression. A few strands of hair were falling into his eyes and she resisted stroking them aside.

“Having people you love in your life shouldn't be a burden to you. It should be an honor. And if you should lose them some day, believe me, it's better to feel pain than nothing at all.” She added softly and gave him one last genuine smile, before standing up and going to the front door. She took a last glance at Stiles and then went into the house. She had given him enough stuff to think about, so she would let him be for himself now. Maybe he would even take the next step and talk to her and if he didn't, she would wait for the next opportunity. For now though, she was happy with the talk and could enjoy her tea, which was probably cold by now.

Stiles stayed outside for a little longer. He thought about what Melissa had just said to him and of course, she was right. He shouldn't let himself get controlled by his fears. Life was way too precious for wasting it to negative thoughts and unreasonable fears. Life was about having joyful moments with people you loved and taking as much out of it as you could. And as much as he agreed with Melissa on those things, it wasn't so easy to just change his own point of view. He _wanted_ to get his normal life back again, but how could he do that, if he was constantly surrounded by his fears. That wasn't something he could just forget about.

God, Stiles just hated this constant feeling of back and forth. Whenever he felt like actually taking a step forward and change some things in his life, something bad came up in his mind and he was instantly confronted with his weariness again and let himself get overcome by it.

Sighing loudly, Stiles dropped his cigarette, which had been burned down for a while now, into the ashtray beside him and then slung his arms around Prada to carry her. He stood up, the blanket around his shoulders making him look like a hero in a cape, but he knew he wasn't a hero.

As soon as he was in the house again, he went over the sofa and let Prada down. She immediately circled a few times around herself, before laying down and closing her eyes again. Stiles watched her, until she finally made herself comfortable and then shrugged off the blanket. He fold it together and laid it over the back of the sofa, before turning to the stairs and walking up to get to his room. Stiles smiled lightly at the sight of Lydia in his bed. That was something, he would never get tired of seeing. Slowly he went over and crawled under the covers beside her. His arm curled around his girlfriend's little form, while he pushed his face in her strawberry-blonde mane. She smelled so good, it was a scent that always managed to calm him down.

Lydia stirred beside him and opened her eyes to little slits. She looked over her shoulder, even though the room was pitch black and she couldn't see anything.

“Where've you been?” She mumbled sleepily. She had woken up at some time in the night and had found the spot beside her empty. Lydia had wanted to go looking for him, but sleep had overcome her so quickly, she'd fallen asleep again.

“Couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs. But I didn't want to stay out of bed any longer.” He whispered back to her, while shoving his hand under her over-sized shirt, just so he could feel her warm skin on his rough palms.

“'Cause I don't want to be alone anymore.” Stiles added to his sentence.

And it meant so much more, than it sounded like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it takes me so long to update, but I'm often struggling with plot or simply have a hard time finding the right words. My study courses did start in February too, so I don't have as much time to write as I used to have, but I'm still trying to do my best. Just please be patient with me.  
> IMPORTANT  
> I've got a request for you:  
> Do you have any ideas or suggestions what our lovely group (or couples) could do together? I've already planned a few things like road trips and parties and stuff, but maybe you can think of something special as well. The same goes for the plot. I want to fill the story with a cool plot, so if you have any special thoughts of what could happen (even if it's about angsty stuff), please let me know and if it fits the story I've planned so far I could write it in. xx


	5. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your kind comments, especially to Isabella, I_Slay and Mae. I love reading you opinions and I really like the idea of writing this story together with all of you by getting suggestions and great ideas. Thanks for your support, it means so much to me.  
> This chapter is gonna be very Lydia and Stiles centric. I didn't intend to write it that way, but I kept writing and writing and I couldn't stop and now it's kind of a Stydia chapter. There's also a lot of talking in the chapter, I hope it's easy to read and not too much.

A week had went by since Stiles had his late night talk with Melissa. It wasn't like their talk had everything changed over night, but the tension between them wasn't as suffocating anymore. Stiles knew he wanted to change some things in his life and after everything Melissa had said to him, he wanted to give her a chance. But that was all easier said than done. If all Stiles was even quieter now, because es was constantly thinking of a way to start getting rid of his anxiety.

So except for the lack of awkwardness, things were pretty much the same as in the beginning. Scott and Stiles still shared a room together, they ate dinner at the table as a family whenever they could, while everyone except for Stiles talked about their day, and Melissa and Scott tried to find a routine in their new life.

Differently than Stiles, Scott felt way better after living in the new house for a week now. Though he would have liked to get his own room, so he could actually set his new life up, he had quickly gotten used to living with two other people in a foreign town. Which was mostly because of his new friends he guessed (yes, they were his friends now too, not just Stiles'), because they had been nothing but supportive. Lydia and sometimes Stiles had helped him with school stuff, the girls had dragged him to the city, so he would get to know his surroundings some more and even Isaac had opened up and had showed him how he could improve his lacrosse technique.

His relationship, if he could call it like that already, with Stiles was better, too. Of course Stiles still didn't share much about his life and Scott could clearly sense his uneasiness and weariness, but now he made at least an afford to be some what nice to Scott, well as nice as he was to his other friends, which included lots of sarcasm, eye rolls and sass. But Scott saw that as an actual step forward with his new brother.

Melissa had changed the decoration of the house a bit. She made sure to not make any major changes, but a fluffy rug there and flowers in self-made vases here gave the house a homey and cozy look. There were now pictures of baby Scott on the wall, right next to baby Stiles, just as photos of Melissa and Scott together or Scott in his old lacrosse uniform on the field. Melissa had made sure though to not touch any pictures of Stiles' mother, which she would have done either way, even if it wouldn't have been one of Stiles' conditions. And while she had hung the photos on the wall, she made up her mind to get as much pictures as possible of them all together. Because the wall was in desperate need of an actual family picture.

Noah absolutely loved the little changes in the house. Everything looked so nice and joyful and.. alive. Just like he felt. He couldn't be any happier than he was at the moment. Having Melissa and Scott with him at home now was everything he had wished for in the past couple months and now it finally had happened. The Sheriff saw a future with Melissa. He wanted to marry her some day and keep her til he would take his last breath. Of course he wouldn't ask her right away. He wanted to take his time, make everything right and even more important, he needed Stiles to get better. Because his son would always come first.

The first week of school was exhausting, but not as terrible as Scott had thought, when he had had his first day. There were quite a lot rumors about Scott being Stiles' long lost brother or Scott getting 'undercover' in the Stilinski family for a special protection program lead by the Sheriff. There were whispers behind their backs, talking about their family and Stiles' mother. And last but not least bets of when Stiles would 'go crazy and end up in Eichen House again', which Scott thought was really rude, especially after Kira told him, Eichen was a mental health facility. But he had also made friends, found his way around school rather quickly and the teachers weren't that hard on him, so that kinda made him forget about the negative things.

Nevertheless, he was happy when the bell rang, signaling the end of class and announcing the weekend. After the rest of the group said their goodbyes already, the only ones left in the parking lot were Lydia, Scott and Stiles. Scott leaned on Stiles' Jeep, waiting for him to finish his conversation with his girlfriend a few feet away. He couldn't help but listening in, but he turned his head in the other direction, pretending to have his attention elsewhere.

"Why won't you come home with me?" Stiles whined over dramatically, while throwing his head in his neck and looking into the sky with squinted eyes, watching the birds fly above them.

"I told you my mom wants me to be home for once and I actually kinda want to spent some time with her, too." Lydia replied patiently in a soft voice.

"But I want you with me." Stiles pouted and returned his look on Lydia's face again. She arched an eyebrow at his words, while crossing her arms in front of her chest, causing her breast to push up and Stiles' eyes to wander down for a second.

"Is this about Jackson?" Her question got Stiles' full attention again and he raised his head to meet her eyes. He grimaced in discomfort and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. His lack of answer was actually answer enough for Lydia. She sighed lightly, before softening her expression again.

"Stiles, he's a jerk and I hate him just as much, but stop worrying about him, okay? I'll be with my mom and it's not like he ever followed me to my house or anything." Stiles' gaped at her with an open mouth and shocked expression and Lydia immediately regretted her words. The last thing she'd intended to do, was putting bad ideas in Stiles' head.

The thing with Jackson wasn't even really a thing for Lydia. He was constantly trying to persuade her to give up on her 'spastic and nuts boyfriend' and to 'just sleep with him instead already'. It was really annoying, but she had a feeling Jackson only did that to get on her nerves or to provoke Stiles and get him into trouble, because he never really made an attempt to touch her or show her some kind of affection, so she was pretty sure he didn't had a crush on her or anything. Jackson just liked toying with people.

Stiles on the other hand was constantly on the edge around Jackson, being so close to punch the living hell out of that bastard whenever he spoke up to Lydia. It wasn't always like this. For weeks now, Jackson had left them alone, hadn't even noticed them in the school hallways or elsewhere. But now he had decided to hit on Lydia again, seemingly just because he felt like it. And he was always doing that. On one time he hit on Lydia or provoke Stiles, on other times he ignored them. They played this game for over a year now and Stiles got really tired of it, but unfortunately that didn't change his reaction toward Jackson. He wished he could control his feelings better, but he couldn't help but show how pissed off he was, whenever Jackson talked disrespectfully to Lydia and therefore only urging him on to keep going with his bullshit.

"Forget what I just said." Lydia sighed, knowing damn well, that Stiles never just forgot about things she said. "Listen, you know he's just playing games. He rarely even talks to me, when I'm alone, okay? And it isn't like I'm gonna be anywhere where I could meet him. I'm going to the art gallery with my mom and I'll call you after that in the evening, if you want me to."

Stiles listened to Lydia's rational words and did his best to believe them. He nodded sheepishly, avoiding looking into her eyes again and instead training them on her dark red boots on her feet. He saw Lydia taking a few steps forward, before she uncrossed her arms to slip them around his middle, her arms trapped now between his body and his own arms, because his hands were still stuffed in his pockets. He let his head fall forward until he could reach the crown of her head, where he then put a small, but lingering kiss in her hair.

Lydia could usually read Stiles like a book. She knew about his fears and knew how to handle them - more or less. His jealousy didn't really bother her anymore, she even felt kinda flattered, whenever he got possessive over her like that, but sometimes it was hard nonetheless. Though, when she thought of the beginning of their relationship, Stiles was almost calm now compared to his past self. He had been constantly worrying over her, gotten mad at the slightest touch of an other guy and had always put a hand somewhere on her body, when they had been going out, so everyone knew she belonged to him. It had been exhausting, but she'd known what she had been getting into. Because she knew his struggles since the beginning, he had never managed to hide anything from her, so at some point he had just stopped trying to hide. And maybe that made her love him even more.

Squeezing her boyfriend one last time, Lydia pulled back a bit to raise her head at him. She puckered her lips and waited for him to bend down. Stiles watched her for a moment, before meeting her with his lips, pressing them shortly together in a chaste kiss. Lydia sighed and gripped the collar of Stiles' plaid flannel to pull him back down again and kiss him deeper. He went with it, moving his lips against her plush ones, making her sigh again, but this time out of contentment.

Lydia ended the kiss, when she felt satisfied, but kept her hands on his collar, smoothing the wrinkles down, she had made, when she had gripped his shirt. When she was done, she stretched upward and circled her arms around his neck to pull him into a tight embrace again. This time, Stiles took his hands out of his pockets to sling his arms around her tiny frame, his face pushed down in her neck.

"I love you, Mischief." Lydia whispered in his shoulder, using the nickname his mom had always used on him. Normally, no one ever called him like that anymore, because he didn't like it. But Lydia felt like she needed to reassure him about the whole Jackson thing and the only way she could think of at the moment, was showing him, that she knew who he was and loved every facet of him.

Stiles face pulled itself in a painful expression, which Lydia couldn't see fortunately. He hugged her tighter, seeking comfort, before finally relaxing into her hold and giving himself over. Lydia smiled into his shirt, when she felt him letting go and relaxing into her arms.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them saying anything, while Scott stood patiently at Stiles' car and waited for them. He felt like the last thing he could do, was letting the couple have their moment, because they didn't really have any privacy at home with Scott living in Stiles' room as well.

When they parted, Stiles put a small smile on his face, while raising one hand to Lydia's face to stroke her cheek. She kissed him one more time in return, before they finally let go of each other and said their goodbyes.

Stiles went over to the drivers side of his Jeep and hopped in, his stepbrother following him quickly and got in the car as well. Stiles' fingers were drumming on the wheel in front of him, while he watched Lydia walking to her own car. He knew he was paranoid, but he would feel better knowing Lydia got safety to her car without Jackson pestering her. As soon as she reached her car, Stiles started the engine of his own and pulled out of the parking lot. Scott, who didn't know what else to do, petted him twice on the shoulder, before looking out of the window. Both of them letting the moment uncommented.

After a short drive home, Stiles pulled in the driveway and didn't waste much time as he grabbed his backpack and jumped out of the car. He couldn't stop the whirling thoughts in his head and was desperate to finally get out of the suffocating small space of his Jeep – as much as he loved his car.

Scott trailed behind, trying his best to let Stiles alone, even though he wanted to help him somehow. But by now he knew Stiles mostly needed to go through his anxiety by himself. When both of them walked through the doorway, his mom's head popped out of the kitchen door and she greeted both of them with a smile.

“Well hello.”

“Hey mom.” Scott greeted back, while Stiles already made his way over to the stairs with a grumpy expression. He wanted nothing more than just bury his face in his pillows and hide from the world until he would receive his promised phone call from Lydia.

“Stiles wait.” Melissa said urgently and took a few steps forward, so she could look up the stairs, where Stiles had stopped halfway. He looked down and waited for her to say something, not in the mood to hide away his grumpiness.

“I made lunch.” She continued finally.

“Why?” Stiles asked confused. Normally they ate dinner together, when both Melissa and his dad were home.

“Because we like eating together as a family and I have a night shift today, come on now, Stiles.” His dad said, who had stepped out of the kitchen as well to come to his partners side. Stiles watched them for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes and walking down again. He let his backpack drop at the end of the stairs and then walked around his father to go into the kitchen. Noah only shook his head at Stiles' behavior. Especially because Stiles had been in a good mood this morning. Sometimes it was really hard putting up with his moodiness.

The rest of the family followed Stiles in the kitchen. They joined him at the table, taking their seats like they had done the whole week. Noah at the head of the table, to his left Melissa and Scott beside her, to his right Stiles and next to him usual Lydia whenever she ate with them.

Melissa gestured for Noah to make the start so he dug the big spoon into Melissa's baked spaghetti casserole, but instead of putting the first spoon full on his own plate, he started with her instead. She smiled lovingly at him, always noticing little gestures like that. After he put food on everyone's plate, they started to eat in silence.

Stiles was more picking through is food than actually eating it, way to occupied with gnawing anxiously on his knuckles. Noah watched his son for five minutes until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Stiles, stop that and eat now."

"Not hungry." He murmured in reply.

"You're always hungry. So what's wrong?"

Stiles stopped his gnawing, but only to drum his finger on the back of his hand like he had done before in the car on his wheel. It was a habit of Stiles', whenever he was nervous or thought about something. Noah waited for Stiles to answer, while taking another bite of Melissa's delicious food.

"Stiles, I know you're upset about something and you know you can tell me. Are you still mad about-"

"It's Jackson, okay?!" Stiles finally said and let his fork fall on his plate, filling the sudden silence with a loud clinking noise. Noah let out a simple 'Oh', while still watching Stiles, who sat with crossed arms and furious looking eyes beside him.

When no one said anything, Melissa set her fork and knife down to intertwine her finger together and prop her head up on her hands.

"Who's Jackson?" She asked curiously.

"He's interested in Lydia." The Sheriff answered.

"No, he's not _interested_ in her, he wants to fuck her."

"Language, Stiles." Noah demanded halfheartedly. Swearing was something he had never managed to cure Stiles of.

"No dad, he's hitting on her since forever and not in a nice way. Walking along the school hallways and hearing him talk about her 'blowjob lips' and how they might feel on his dick, is nothing I'm gonna bare any longer. Let alone how shitty Lydia feels every time, because of this dickhead." Stiles uncrossed his arms to make the quote marks with his fingers, before putting his arms in front of his chest again.

Melissa starred openly dumbfounded at Stiles, not knowing what to say. She knew Stiles could get angry, but hearing him using this words and looking like he wanted to break something with his bare hands, was something she hadn't expected.

"He's really saying things like that?" Melissa asked, as soon as she found her voice again.

"Yeah." Stiles grumbled quietly.

"That Jackson kid can't just talk to Lydia like that! What is he thinking?" Melissa got actually upset about this newfound information. She would never understand rudeness like that. "Can't you do something against that? That's.. that's sexual harassment, isn't it?" She asked in Noah's direction. He only sighed and shook his head.

"They're underage, it'll just get swept under the carpet as innocent teenage hassle. I already tried talking to Jackson's father, but he can't get through him anymore, since Jackson knows he's adopted."

"Unbelievable." Melissa said and shook her head. Lydia was such a nice girl, she absolutely didn't deserve to get harassed like that. But that showed how much pretty people struggled in social life as well, it wasn't always as easy for them as most people assumed.

"Stiles, I know you can't stand that guy and what he's doing is not fair to Lydia at all, but please, please don't get into trouble, okay?" Noah's voice was calm and understanding, but he made it clear, he was serious. Stiles got in trouble more often than the Sheriff wished for. Coming to work and seeing his own son in handcuffs or behind bars of the small cell in their station wasn't something he wanted to see again. And he had been so relieved, when he didn't hear any bad news about Stiles for over two months. He really didn't want to go back there just because of the Whittemore kid.

"He's driving me nuts, dad and I can't let him talk like that to Lydia!" Stiles huffed out. His leg began bouncing up and down, showing his restlessness.

"He's right, Stiles should kick his ass as soon as he says something like that again." Melissa agreed with Stiles, which made three pairs of eyes looking at her in surprise. She only shrugged her shoulders and for a moment it was silent, before Scott started to laugh at his mom, the Sheriff joining in and even Stiles couldn't suppress his smirk.

Noah told Melissa, half jokingly half serious, she shouldn't encourage his son getting into trouble and after that the whole conversation got lighter. They talked briefly about Jackson again, before changing the subject completely.

They had a nice lunch together, sitting after eating for another hour at the table only talking and enjoying each other's company, until Stiles announced he would go into his room now to do some things for school as long as he was motivated to, so he wouldn't have to bother about it the rest of the weekend. Scott decided to join him and both of them walked up the stairs, letting their contently smiling parents alone in the kitchen.

Both Scott and Stiles worked quietly at their homework, only saying something, when Scott had a question. It wasn't like he always needed so much help. He maybe wasn't such a smartass as Lydia or Stiles, but he was clever nonetheless. Though changing school in the middle of the year didn't make all this stuff easier, so he depended on some help every now and then.

After working for a few hours, Scott ended up with his textbooks shoved down his mattress, his feet propped up on the edge of Stiles' bed and his phone in his hands, watching a lacrosse game with his headphones plugged in. Stiles sat on the floor at the end of his bed, leaning his back against it, while playing some chords on his guitar, scribbling the accords down, whenever he liked specific sounds.

At some point, Noah knocked on the door to let them know he would leave for work now. Stiles told him to be careful and the Sheriff assured him he would. Especially night shifts were always hard on Stiles. He often struggled even more with falling asleep, way too anxious about waking up and not seeing his dad's car in the driveway, because something happened to him. Stiles' imagination and paranoia did a good job on letting him almost believe those things, even though nothing comparable had ever actually happened, well at least not on night shifts.

Shorty after the Sheriff left, Stiles' phone rang in his jeans pocket. He fished it out to see Lydia's name on the screen. He instantly picked up.

"Hey." He greeted and tried to sound nonchalant, but he knew he failed miserably. Lydia always knew how he felt anyway. It was like she could sense it or something.

"Hey, baby." She said back. Stiles heard a door falling shut in the background. "Just came home, I'm so exhaust. It was a good day though." Lydia said, while smiling at her mom. She gave her a kiss on the cheek, before walking up the stairs to get to her room.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was so interesting. There was a collection of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings-"

"The one with the vagina paintings?" Stiles interrupted to ask.

"Yes, that's her. Anyway, it was so nice going through her collection, there's just something about her art, that.. I can't put my finger on it, but I always feel like she wants to make good feelings last through her art." Stiles listened to everything Lydia had to tell him about. He could do that for hours and well, sometimes actually did. He liked hearing the passion in her voice, whenever she talked about something inspiring her.

"I'm glad you had fun with your mom and your vaginas.. I mean vagina _paintings_! God, that just sounded so wrong, I desperately want to take that back." Stiles groaned and put a hand over his face. Lydia started laughing hysterically and when she finally calmed down, she answered him with an amused sounding voice, but managed to keep the conversation somewhat serious.

"Well, I certainly did and I've got so much inspiration now."

"You should start painting yourself again." Stiles suggested. He liked watching her paint, just as much as he liked listening to her. His mom used to do that too, a few of her paintings still hanging in the living room and the corridors.

"Yeah, maybe." Stiles could hear her getting out of her clothes and probably changing into more comfortable ones, before he heard the rustling noise of blankets.

"What are you wearing?" He asked curiously.

"You're trying to have phone sex with me?"

"If you actually have to ask probably not." Stiles replied amused, while running his fingertips over the strings of his guitar.

He heard Lydia giggle, before answering. "I'm wearing your Pink Floyd shirt, the black one with the bricks on it. It still smells like you. And my panties, that's all."

Stiles held back a groan by biting hard on his bottom lip. His imagination didn't just work on bad things, it worked perfectly picturing his girlfriend's body in only his shirt and one of her cute panties, as well. They were silent for a few seconds, before Stiles spoke up again.

"You know what, I change my answer. I wanna have phone sex now." He said it in a joking voice, but he wasn't so sure if he really meant it as a joke. Well, one thing for sure, he would always be up for that, when Lydia was.

"Yeah, why not, let's do it." She agreed.

"Cool." Stiles said and threw a look over his shoulder, where Scott was lying on his makeshift bed, headphones -thankfully- still in his ears, so he didn't hear any of their conversation. "Lemme just go to the bathroom." He added.

He took one last glance at Scott, who didn't really seem to notice him over whatever he was watching on his phone, so he didn't even make an excuse up, as he got up and walked out of the door. Stiles got used to sharing a room with Scott more or less, but things like that were just fucking annoying. He had to leave his own room to have phone sex with his girlfriend or when she slept over he couldn't wake her with kisses all over her body.

Stiles went into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He considered his options on where to sit and then decided on the edge of the bathtub.

"You there?" Lydia asked, her voice already husky and seductive.

"Yeah er, I'm sitting on the bathtub now." Stiles replied and tried to make himself as comfortable as possible.

"You had me bend over there a few weeks ago." His girlfriend said in the same dark voice she had spoken before. He had to swallow.

"Mhm." He made a confirming humming noise. "I like bending you over and fucking you from behind."

Stiles almost couldn't believe how naturally they just started telling each other dirty things. But when it came to talking or sex, he never really struggled, and when those things were combined.. well.

"I like that too, Stiles. You're always so deep inside me then, I can almost feel it now."

"Lydia?"

"Yeah?" She breathed out.

"Where are your hands?" He asked, while simultaneously palming his right hand over the natural bulge in his jeans. He started massaging it lightly, while he waited for an answer.

"One's holding the phone, the other's on my stomach." She replied and started to draw patterns on her stomach with her fingertips.

"Put the phone on speaker."

Lydia did as she was told, turning the volume down a bit afterwards and then laying the phone on the pillow beside her head. She then told him, she was ready.

Stiles hummed contently, picturing Lydia in her bed, the light dimmed, her strawberry blonde hair falling all over her pillow. He wanted to be with her so badly right now.

"Let your right hand trail down your body until you reach you thighs. I want you to stroke them on the inside, like I always do." He commanded softly and tried to hear every movement of hers. There wasn't much noise, but then he heard her sucking in her breath and that's when he knew she reached her thighs. "You're doing it?" He asked, even though he already knew.

"Yeah, like you always do it. Just the fingertips, let them trail along the inside of my right thigh and stop right where I want be touched most."

"Where do you want to be touched most, Lydia?" He asked and his voice turned rougher. He knew she always liked it, when his voice got deeper during sex and most times he didn't even had to do anything for it, his voice changing on its own from all the pleasure. But now he did it on purpose, trying to rill her up with just his voice alone.

“You know where.”

“Tell me.” He demanded softly.

“My Georgia O'Keeffe.”

Stiles couldn't help but chuckle. He was sure you were not supposed to laugh during phone sex, but Lydia could make things so special in her own Lydia-way and he absolutely didn't care, that they weren't a normal couple. Lydia made him happy, made him feel alive. And almost every time after sex he felt content with himself, but not because of the act itself, but because of how close he felt to Lydia and how she managed to let his heart tumble over its own rhythm with just a smile. He desperately wanted to see her smile now.

“Then do that.” He finally told her, after he shook himself out of his thoughts. “Use both hands. I want you to hold you open with one and touch yourself with the other.” Lydia moaned quietly at Stiles' words and immediately obeyed. She let her left hand wander down her stomach until she reached her goal. She spread her neither lips with her fore and middle finger, before she used her right hand and put one of her fingers on her clit.

“Yes!”, was all she managed to sigh out, while she started rubbing herself.

“You're wet?” He asked and licked over his dry lips. “You can't even imagine how badly I wanna taste you right now. Wanna run my tongue over your pussy and eat you out.”

There was another sigh, this time louder, as Lydia breathed into her phone. Stiles had always been good with words. God, how she loved his dirty mouth. She let the finger over her clit wander further down to her hole. She dipped her finger inside and mewled quietly at the wetness she felt.

"Yes, I'm wet. For you, because of you."

"Fuck, baby, you killin' me here." Stiles groaned and squeezed his hand tighter around his crotch. "Push two fingers in for me, yeah? All the way."

And again Lydia listened to him and pushed her fingers in to the knuckle, spreading her legs a bit further, so she could reach better.

"Are you jerking off?" She asked, when her fingers were in.

"Do you want me to?" His voice turning deeper again, making Lydia moan.

She nodded quickly, before realizing he couldn't see her. "Yeah, yeah I want you to."

"Want me to do what?" He wanted to hear her say it.

"Want you to take your cock out and stroke it."

Stiles bit his bottom lip, suppressing another groan, as he put his fingers on the button of his jeans. He opened it and then slowly dragged his zipper down, making sure Lydia would hear it. When his jeans was open he pushed it down a bit and then shoved his right hand into his boxers to take his cock out. He gave it a few dry strokes and hummed happily.

"I'm hard, just by listened to your moans. You're gonna end me."

He heard Lydia giggle, but the sound turned into a sob, when her insides squeezed around her fingers. She experimentally moved them in and out in a slow pace, wishing it would be Stiles' fingers instead.

"I want it to be your fingers." She spoke out what she had just thought. "They're bigger and so much longer, damn, they're really long. I love your hands. Did I ever tell you?"

Stiles listened to Lydia's rambling, she always did that, when she got close to orgasm or when she got overwhelmed by pleasure. And he guessed this time it was the second one, because they only had started.

"Mhm, yeah, I think you tell me every time I finger you." Stiles mused.

"But I always love them, not just inside me. I like the veins on the back of your hands and on your arms, I love how bony they are, I like how they stroke easily along the strings of your guitar and yeah, okay, I love how they feel inside me, too."

"What do they feel like?" Stiles asked, as he got up from the bathtub. He went over to the sink to get a few drops of soap in his palm, so he could stroke himself easier. He set back down and put his hand back on his dick, spreading the liquid along his hard flesh.

"They make me full and you always manage to find the right places inside me. I never do. I wish you were here and could finger me properly, Stiles."

"Imagine it's me." Stiles grunted, when he tightened his grip on himself. He moved his hand in steady strokes, but kept the pace slow.

"Not enough." Lydia whined into her phone, making Stiles' cock twitch in his hand.

"Then think back to when I fucked you here over the bathtub. Remember what I did before that?"

Lydia began to move her hand faster, trying to seek, what she knew she wouldn't find on her own. Since she and Stiles had sex, she needed way longer to get off by herself, which she thought was really frustrating.

"You fucked my mouth with your hands in my hair." She replied breathlessly.

"That's right. You love it, when I pull your hair don't you?"

"Mhm." Lydia sighed in confirmation. "Like it when you're rough with me."

Stiles moaned at Lydia's words, because he liked it rough as well. They were always up to new stuff, as long as they could put all their energy into it without having to worry about actually hurting each other. So they let the really heavy stuff aside and instead went with what they already knew both of them were comfortable with.

"Then add a third finger now and think of that. Remember, how I held you down with my hand tightly in your hair, how I clutched your hip with my other hand so hard there were bruises showing. Remember how hard I fucked you, how deep I was inside your tight hole." Stiles ordered gruffly and then thought of the same things. Of Lydia bend over in front of him, of her smooth skin under his hands, of her loud moans, whenever he pushed harder inside her. He really wished she would be here now, so he wouldn't have to imagine all that, instead could actually do it.

He listened to her sighing his name, her breathing getting faster, which caused him to speed up his own attempts. He bucked his hips and started thrusting into his own hand, while tightening his grip some more. “Fuck! Lydia. You- you have no idea how hard I want to fuck you right now.”

Lydia let out a little scream, when she heard Stiles' words. Her free hand buried itself in her sheets, while her other hand moved faster as she desperately tried to reach the deep spots inside herself as Stiles always did. But it wasn't the same. Stiles ruined her for good. Nothing would ever be the way it used to be and for once Lydia absolutely didn't mind, that a guy had so much power over her own mind and body.

“Stiles! Want you, too, want you to fuck me, too. Promise me- fuck, please, promise me, you're gonna do just that as soon as we find some time alone again. Y'didn't fuck me since that one time during lunch.”

“I'm going to, baby, I promise.” He answered with a grunt. He would make sure they would get some time alone together again. But since Melissa and Scott had moved in with them, Stiles was a little on the edge and his dad also wanted to spent as much time with all of them together as possible. So sneaking off wasn't as easy anymore. “But first I'll get you off now, okay?”

“Yes!” Lydia sighed loudly in agreement, she was so desperate to get off now.

“Use your other hand to pinch your nipples. I want you to do it hard.” Stiles listened to Lydia's movements until he heard her crying out loudly, knowing she did what she was told. “Good, now let your fingers inside you, but use your palm to rub over your clit. Can you do that for me?”

Lydia bit hard on her bottom lip, but she couldn't stop the moan, that came out of her throat, as soon as she did what Stiles had told her to do. Normally, she wasn't really good at taking orders, but during sex it was something totally different. “I'm doing it now.” She told her boyfriend breathlessly.

“Good girl, then keep going until you come, yeah? I want you to come all over your fingers, just like you would if my dick was inside you.”

Lydia answered him with another pleasureful cry and Stiles couldn't do anything other anymore than listening to the beautiful sounds his girlfriend made and simultaneously jerking himself off faster. His hips met his fist with every push forward, while his hand slid, thanks to the soap, easily over his raging cock.

“I'm so close, Stiles.” Lydia sighed out and rubbed her hand harder against her clit, while her fingers were still halfway inside her hole. She was so close, all she needed was a little push and she knew Stiles would help her out on that one. He always made sure she was satisfied.

“Then come, baby girl. Pinch your nipples harder and-”

“I can't.” Lydia whined and shook her head even though he couldn't see it.

“Yes, you can. You can take it whenever I'm going harder on you, then you can do it to yourself now too. Do it, baby, it's all you need to get off.” Stiles told her roughly and tried his best to hold his own orgasm back. He was so close to coming himself, but he wouldn't let go without Lydia.

Lydia dragged in a few breaths, before pinching her left nipple even harder than before and pressing the palm of her hand firmly on her clit at the same time. She screamed out Stiles' name as her climax washed over her. Her hips were bucking off the bed and her legs bend upward, forming a tent under her blankets. Of course he knew what would get her off, of course he knew her body better than herself.

When Stiles heard Lydia's scream, he knew she finally reached her goal and that's when he let go, too. He started where he'd left off, stroking his dick fast just underneath the head and it took him only a few seconds more, before he spurt all over his own hand with Lydia's name on his lips.

Both of them were quiet, way to occupied on catching their breaths. That was until Stiles tried to lean back, forgetting about sitting on the bathtub and only realizing that, when it was already too late. Mid fall he screamed out a 'fuck' and then hit his back and head on the tiled wall behind him. Stiles let out a loud groan, before raising the phone back to his ear only to hear Lydia's worried voice.

“-iles? Are you okay? Why aren't you saying anything? Stiles!”

“M'here, I'm okay.” He grunted.

“What happened?” Lydia asked, while sitting upright on her bed, ready to run to Stiles if he needed her.

“You're gonna laugh.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, just hit my head and back, nothing serious.”

“Now tell me.” Lydia demanded and now she was the one giving orders again. If it came to Stiles' safety, she was just as worried about him, as he about her. Stiles was clumsy, got easily into trouble and Lydia thought he maybe had a kink of risking his own health. So it was only reasonable for her to look out for him, especially after all the things she had went through with him already.

“I forgot, I was sitting on the bathtub and wanted to lean back.” Stiles finally answered after a few seconds of silence and only waited for Lydia's laugh to greet him. He didn't get disappointed. Lydia giggled loudly into her phone, which she had taken back into her hand when Stiles had fallen and let herself sink back into her mattress. Her laughing ended with a relieved sigh, while she starred at the ceiling with a smile on her face.

“You're such an idiot.”

“True, but I warned you before we got together.” Stiles joked and forgot all about his hurting back, when Lydia laughed again, his heart swelling with the sound.

“Your dick's still out?”

Stiles looked down on himself. “Yeah.”

“Okay, now it's even funnier.” Lydia replied with an amused tone in her voice. Stiles only huffed, while tucking himself back into his pants with his hand, which was still covered in his own semen. He looked over the palm of his hand with a scrunched up face.

“God, why's sex so gross?”

“Tell me about it, my thighs are soaked.”

“Fuck Lydia, don't say such things when I just came.”

Lydia didn't reply, but he could practically sense her grinning. He made an effort to get out of the bathtub and then went over to the sink to wash his hands, his phone now stuck between his ear and shoulder. He heard Lydia ruffling through her blankets and he guessed she was cleaning up as well. When he was done, he took his phone back into his hand and unlocked the door to get back to his room.

Scott was sitting now upright on his mattress, his earphones no longer in his ears, but his phone still in his hands as he was texting with Allison. He had changed in his pajama bottoms to make himself more comfortable. Scott looked up, when Stiles entered the room, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, while the other held the phone.

“We should do that more often.” Lydia said after a few moments of silence, but couldn't help but yawn right after that.

Stiles chuckled lowly into his phone. “Well, that sounded convincing. You're tired?”

“Yeah, a bit. I'm sorry.”

“Don't worry. Wanna do something tomorrow?”

“Of course.” She answered softly. “I ask mom to drop me off by your house in the morning, before she meets up with her friends.”

“She's still doing that book club thing?” Stiles asked and let himself fall down on his bed, making him feel dizzy for a moment. He briefly wondered how often you could fall on your head, before something serious would happen. He brushed the thought off as he touched his slowly fading bruise on his cheek, where only a light blueish mark was left.

“Yeah, she actually wanted me to come with her and when I told her, I had better things to do on a Saturday she said 'Yes, you wanna do Stiles, I'm aware of that, stop messing around with him so much'.” Lydia imitated the voice of her mother, while she quoted her and Stiles threw his arm over his eyes as he started laughing.

“I think she blames me for the whole sex thing.” Lydia's mom didn't really have anything against Stiles, but she wasn't too keen of him either. She had accepted him as her daughter's boyfriend, but he was sure she blamed him for every normal teenage development Lydia went through, like going to parties, drinking alcohol and well having sex. Which was mostly why Lydia usually stayed over at Stiles' and not the other way around. Stiles thought the only reason Natalie Martin accepted him at all was, that he always made sure Lydia was safe with him. And maybe because he hadn't knocked her up yet.

“She thinks you're corrupting me.”

“ _I'm_ corrupting you? I thinks it's the other way around.”

Lydia gasped at Stiles words, before faking a laugh. “Yeah, no, you're the dirty guy, who always gets in trouble. When you picked me up for our second date you had a black eye and bruises on your knuckles. If my mom wouldn't have known you're Noah's son, she would've never agreed on that date.”

“Now that you mentioned it, she really looked shocked that nigh- hey wait, did you just say I'm dirty?!” Stiles sat himself up as if he could understand her better, when he was upright.

“Yes and I like it that way.” Lydia purred.

“See, no corruption needed. You _look for_ the dirty ones.” Stiles grinned into his phone and he was sure Lydia knew it. He had always liked their banter and he guessed that was one of the reasons he could relax around her so easily. She just was his perfect match. He never really believed in true love, especially in such a young age, but with Lydia.. she was his world. And maybe it was dangerous to let one person have so much power over you, but he knew Lydia felt the same way about him.

“I love you, you know?” Lydia said after a while, her voice so soft and full of happiness, Stiles almost choked on his own emotions. He cleared his throat and looked down at his jeans, scratching with his fingers along the material, where it was teared slightly at his knee. He couldn't remember, when he had ripped it.

“Yeah, I know. And I do, too.” He whispered.

“What? Love yourself?” Lydia teased lovingly. She knew Stiles always got a bit overwhelmed, whenever the L-word fell. It wasn't like he couldn't say it back, but it always seemed like he was afraid of saying it, because the universe could hear it and take away from him what he loved. She knew that wouldn't happen, but she guessed he didn't.

“No, you. I love you.” Stiles finally managed to say and stopped playing on his ripped jeans. He raised his hand to his mouth instead to bite along his nails. Neither of them said anything for a while, it was often like that when they were on the phone. They just listened to the other breathing or sometimes Stiles played something on his guitar and Lydia just listened.

“You should get some rest.” Stiles said, when he heard Lydia yawing again. His voice sounded more like himself again, louder and not as careful anymore.

“Yeah, I'm really tired. See you tomorrow then?”

“Mhm, sleep well.”

“You, too. Night, Stiles.” Lydia said with a smile on her face. Stiles could clearly hear it in her voice, making him smile as well.

“Night, baby.” Were his final words, before they hung up. Stiles threw his phone beside his pillow and then let himself fall backwards again, causing the mattress to make him bounce up and down.

Scott set his phone beside after he sent one last massage to Allison, before sitting himself up to look over Stiles form on the bed. He couldn't tell in which mood he was, but he decided to speak up anyways.

“Was that Lydia?” He asked, even though it had been quite obvious.

“Yeah.”

“Everything okay?” Scot didn't know if he would get an answer. It was still like in the beginning of the week. When Stiles wasn't in a good mood it was kinda hard making conversation with him, but all in all it didn't feel as one sided anymore as it used to be. But Scott noticed, too, that it was easier for Stiles whenever Lydia was around, which she had been almost the whole week, except for now, so he was unsure what to expect.

“Yeah.” Stiles said again, but after a few seconds of silence he added:”Everything's fine just as expected. She came home safe and spent a great day with her mom.”

Scott rested his arm on Stiles' bed to prop his head up in his hand. He looked over the other boy, who in return only starred at the ceiling. From what Scott had heard of the phone call, it didn't sound like they had been fighting, but Stiles looked thoughtful nonetheless.

“Why do you sound so sour about it?”

“What? I'm not. Of course I'm glad she's okay, it's just.. it's nothing.” Stiles furrowed his brows and sat up again, resting his back against the headboard of his bed. He cringed at the slight discomfort, he totally forgot about his accident in the bathroom. So he shoved a few pillows up behind his back to rest more comfortable.

“What? You can tell me, you know?”

Stiles looked over to Scott with a skeptical expression. Scott only sighed.

“You can hate me all you want, but it isn't like I could tell anyone anyway.”

“You're friends with my friends.” Stiles pointed out.

“Well, maybe you should learn to trust then.”

Scott swallowed after his words. It wasn't like he didn't mean what he just said, but it came out in the wrong way. He didn't want to sound rude, he never was one to start a fight or offend anyone. But he wouldn't take it back, well he couldn't take it back anyway, but he wouldn't apologize for it.

Stiles looked pissed and thoughtful at the same time and Scott wondered if that would be the moment, Stiles would kick him out of his room, which was something he had expected a few times during the week. But it had never happened, just like it didn't happen now.

“I think I'm getting on her nerves with my paranoia. I hate it myself.” Stiles admitted grumpily.

Scott thought about Stiles' words. He had often seen how angry Stiles seemed to be angry at himself, whenever he acted out. It was like he knew everything would be fine, but simultaneously thinking the whole world would burn down if it wasn't for him. “You just want her to be safe.” Scott decided to say.

“Yeah, but most of the times it's totally unreasonable and I know that, even in that moment, but I can't help it.” Stiles answered and confirmed Scott's earlier thoughts.

“You know Lydia better than me, but I thinks she likes that about you. She was really patient with you this morning and it didn't seem as if she was annoyed or anything.“

“Yeah, maybe.” He mumbled and then turned on his stomach, both arms crossed under the pillow. He thought about Scott's words and hoped he was right. Lydia was usual one to tell, whenever she didn't like something, but Stiles couldn't help but think, that maybe she bared some things just because she didn't want to upset him further.

And though Scott couldn't really help him on that matter, it felt kinda nice talking to him about it. Stiles' would never admit that, but suddenly having a brother wasn't just complete bullshit.

* * *

 

When Scott woke up the next morning, he found Stiles' bed empty. He had heard Stiles getting up somewhat during the night, but he hadn't been sure if he'd dreamed it or not until he saw the empty bed. Scott hadn't witnessed Stiles' sleeping issues that much yet, but Noah had given him a quick warning on his first night, telling him that Stiles had nightmares and sleepwalked sometimes, and also that it didn't happen that much in the past few months, but mental issues could come back as quickly as they disappeared, so Scott should always keep that in mind.

And he did. So, a few days ago, when Stiles had woken up gasping and had knocked something over on the nightstand, causing Scott to wake up as well, he had been prepared. He didn't quite know how to handle Stiles in moments like this, but telling him it had been just a nightmare and that he was awake now seemed to work. Stiles had been really grumpy the other day, he'd been obviously uncomfortable with Scott seeing him in a vulnerable state like that, but when Scott hadn't made a big deal out of it, Stiles seemed to be okay with Scott knowing. And since then they were a bit closer, at least that's what Scott thought. But he was sure Stiles felt the same, otherwise he surely hadn't talked to him about Lydia the night before.

Scott checked his phone and found a good morning text from Allison. A smile crept up his face, while he replied to her. He waited a few minutes after that and when he got no respond, he scrambled out of his blankets and went into the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth, starting his first weekend in his new home relaxed and happy.

He went down the stairs and saw Stiles dozing in a sitting position on the couch, his head hanging over the backrest and a blanket tucked over his legs up to his shoulders. Stiles looked really innocent, when he slept and Scott had to suppress a chuckle at the very thought. He let his brother rest and went into the kitchen instead, where he was greeted by his mom and the smell of pancakes. He briefly wondered where Noah was, because he was usually the first one to wake up, but then he remembered his night shift and guessed he was still sleeping.

It was the first morning he spent alone with his mother again and he really didn't know what he liked better; eating together as a family or having a quiet breakfast with his mom. It was definitely nice getting to talk to his mom alone, asking her how she held up and if everything was okay at work.

Melissa had worked at Beacon Hills Hospital even before they had been moving to Beacon Hills. That was actually the place, where she and Noah had met for the first time, when he needed medical information for a case he had been working on that time. His mom had told Scott, she was instantly falling for Noah, only to hear from the other nurses, that he was off limits, because the Sheriff was a widower and would never love another woman as he had Claudia.

But Melissa had proved them all wrong, when Noah had come to the hospital a week later, bringing her flowers and thanking her for helping him out. He hadn't asked her out on that night, he'd been still too deep into his grieve for Claudia. But then a month later Melissa's car had broken down on her way home and the Sheriff himself had found her. He had helped her getting her car to a garage, before he drove her home. Both of them had had so much to talk about during the drive, that they had decided to exchanges numbers and meet up, not as a date, but as two strangers, who were interested in getting to know each other. And two months later, he had asked her out on an actual date and she had said yes. And now they were living together, giving all the other nurses in the hospital enough stuff to gossip about, but that was something Melissa didn't care about.

So when Scott asked her, how things were at work, she simply said she was fine, because there were still a few normal colleagues, who didn't care whom she was with, as long as she was well. Scott understood her completely, it was almost the same way at school. Some students couldn't stop gossiping about him and Stiles, but others didn't really seem to care.

Scott enjoyed his time with his mom, but it wasn't long until both of them heard the front door open and then close again. Clicking noises of heels meeting hardwood floor greeted them and both Melissa and Scott instantly knew, who found their way into the house. They only knew Lydia for a week, but she was such a special character, there was just no way to mistake her with someone else.

Lydia followed her nose, the smell of pancakes still in the air, and went straight to the kitchen.

“Well, good morning, McCalls.” She said with a grin and Melissa couldn't help but smile at her. Lydia's happiness was contagious.

“And where's the rest of the lovely family.” Lydia asked, after the other two had wished her a good morning as well. She set her big bag aside, a clear sign she planned on staying over again.

“Noah had a night shift and your boyfriend's snoring in the living room.” Melissa answered with a chuckle in her voice. She had found Stiles this morning, drooling over himself and talking something in his sleep in a language she didn't understand. She had tucked him in and had tried her very best to resist giving him a kiss to his forehead. It was hard for her to hold back her motherly instincts on Stiles, when all she wanted to do was cure his broken soul with many mommy-hugs and homemade food.

“Oh, sleepless night again?” Lydia asked, but didn't wait for an answer. Instead she slipped out of her heels, took them into her hands and set them in the corridor aside, before going over to Stiles' sleeping form on the couch. He had dark circles under his eyes and seemed to be deep in his sleep, even though he was sitting upright, instead of lying flat on the sofa. Lydia could already hear him complaining about how his neck hurt. She stroked softly through his hair, careful as not to wake him, before walking back into the kitchen again.

Melissa eyed her with a soft expression on her face. She found it so adorable, how both of the teenagers acted around each other. They were still so young, but that didn't change how well they took care of each other and how much they seemed to love one another. She had never seen such a strong connection between two teenagers. They were like an old couple; constantly complaining about each other in a joyful manner and simultaneously showing their love every second they were together. And even though seeing young couples acting that way was rare, Melissa couldn't help but smile at the thought of how Allison and Scott behaved around each other. Because they didn't know each other very long, but it seemed as if there was a similar connection between them like between Lydia and Stiles. And she was excited to find out.

Lydia took a seat at the table and the three of them started their breakfast together. Melissa asked Lydia about her family and the girl explained to her, that she had no siblings and her parents were divorced. She could visit her father whenever she wanted to, but mostly stayed with her mom. She loved both her parents and they loved her, but it was just easier to chose one place to stay instead of constantly moving back and forth. She had wanted to stay in her hometown, in the house she grew up and most of all, wanted to stay where all her friends were, so she had chosen to live with her mother and had decided to visit her father, when he wanted to see her or the other way around. He lived right outside of town, so it wouldn't take her that long to see him, if she desperately wanted to.

Melissa noticed there were many family troubles in Beacon Hills. Noah had lost Claudia, Chris Argent lived alone, Lydia's parents were divorced as well and Isaac got beaten up by his dad. She wondered if it was somewhat of a curse. Well one thing was sure, if there really was a curse she would make sure to break it. She had every intention to build a happy family with Noah and both their sons and nothing would stop her so easily. Not even Stiles and his distrust.

Speaking of the devil, in the middle of their breakfast -Scott already munching on his fourth pancake-, Stiles trotted sleepily into the kitchen, the blanket hanging loosely around his shoulders, as he raised halfheartedly a hand at Melissa and Scott in greeting. His eyes were still half closed, while he went quietly over the coffee machine. He didn't always drink coffee. Most of the times it made him even more restless, than he usually already was and that caused his anxiousness to rise as well. But after sleepless nights like the last one, he didn't know how to help himself and chose coffee to fight against his tiredness.

When his cup was filled, he turned around, already sipping on the brownish liquid only to choke on it as he spotted his girlfriend. He coughed a few times and hit himself with a closed fist on his chest. Stiles cleared his throat one last time, before speaking up.

“What are you doing here?” He asked Lydia in a rough voice, similar to the voice he had talked to her the night before, but this time caused of tiredness and his previous coughing fit instead of pleasure.

“So nice to see you too, honey.” Lydia replied in her sweetest voice, before taking a strawberry out of the bowl Melissa had placed on the table for the pancakes and biting in the fruit, all the while looking at her boyfriend.

Stiles cleared his throat again and then shook his head. “No, yeah, of course I'm happy you're here.” He said with a genuine smile on his lips, letting his tired face brighten up a bit. He went over to Lydia and placed a kiss on the top of her head, before sitting down beside her. “Just didn't think you'd be here before ten.”

“Babe, it's eleven.”

“What?!” He said and took Lydia's left arm in his hand to angle it in a way he could get a look on her watch, his eyes narrowed as if he could see better like that. When he saw it was indeed a little past eleven, he huffed in surprise and stroked a hand through his own messy hair. “Felt like I slept a few minutes only.”

“When did you fall asleep?” Lydia asked softly, while putting a hand on Stiles' neck to caress him gently. He leaned into her touch, enjoying the attention he got and sipped contently on his coffee.

“Somewhat around half past six, I think?” At least he got over four hours of sleep. There were times he barely slept at all, so he didn't see that as a big deal now. Lydia didn't answer, instead pressed her lips to his cheek, leaving a faint red print of her lips behind. She then leaned her head on his blanket covered shoulder. Stiles rested his head against hers, her hair tickling his nose, but he didn't care. It was nice having Lydia by his side.

Stiles totally forgot about the other two being in the room as well, until his eyes fell on Melissa, who was watching the two of them with a smile. He noticed she did that often, just watching them. He guessed it was better than trying to have an awkward conversation with her. Scott on the other hand was munching on his pancakes, seemingly fully enjoying his breakfast without any intention of stopping until he was full. Stiles hid his amused smirk in Lydia's hear and took the in half bitten strawberry out of her hand to eat the rest of it. Lydia fake gasped and told him to get a plate himself, before thinking of eating her food. Melissa -being the mom, she simply was- got up to bring Stiles a plate for himself. He thanked her awkwardly and sat himself up, so he could fill his plate with pancakes and toppings.

Scott and Stiles ate lazily together, Lydia and Melissa were already done, but they stayed with them and started light conversation. Lydia was happy for the Sheriff, finding such a kind woman as Melissa. She was actually pretty cool to hang out with and even though she was a caring mother and took responsibility, Lydia felt like she could go to a party with her and havie the time of her life. Melissa didn't try to act cool, like some parents or teachers tried to, she just was, because she understood teenagers and took them seriously. Just like Noah and Mr. Argent. Kira's dad was kinda cool, too. He maybe said the wrong things about Kira in the wrong time and the wrong places, but all in all he was really likable and a great teacher as well.

Now that Lydia thought about it, she could actually see a lot of their parents sides in herself and her friends. Kira had bad timings as well, just as her father. She was an awkward geek, but so adorable, you just had to like her. Allison was similar to her dad, too. She was strong and probably the most responsible of them all. Her dad was very protective about his kids, just as Allison always was the one, who took care of their group.

Though she didn't know the McCalls that long, she definitely could see some of Melissa in Scott. They were both calm and collected and seemingly content with themselves. They were so easy to talk to and had both such peaceful characters, it was hard to not like them. Stiles definitely shared his humor with his dad. Just as his curiosity and his smartness. They were both protective too, but in a different way than Allison and her dad, who always made sure _everyone_ was safe _-_ including themselves, while the Stilinskis had a serious habit of saving all the others, but getting themselves in trouble, hurt or worse.

Lydia got ripped out of her thoughts, as the Sheriff walked through the kitchen door, his short hair standing in all direction, just as Stiles'. His first goal was the coffee machine as well. He waited for the coffee to pour into the mug and turned to the table to greet them all with a smile and a 'good morning'. Lydia could see how happy Noah was at the view in front of them, the people who he loved most sitting peacefully at a table together.

Noah took his cup and a plate out of the cupboard, and went over to Melissa, giving her a short kiss, before flopping down on the chair. Stiles looked down at his hands, like he'd done ever time the Sheriff and Melissa kissed or got closer to each other. He always had mixed feelings about seeing Melissa and his dad together like that, so he averted his gaze and played with his fingers instead. Stiles had always been a fan of ignoring things he didn't like in pure hope his issues with solve themselves. Most times they didn't.

It was almost noon, but breakfast got often this late on weekends in the Stilinski house, especially now with so many people living there and waking up on different times. But everyone at the table enjoyed the calm and slow start in the day. It was nice not rushing things for once.

“So..” Melissa started, as Noah was on his second pancaked, to get everyone's attention. “I thought we could spent some time together today, maybe drive out to the beach or something like that.”

“Great idea.” Noah said over a mouthful and gave a thumps up, remind Lydia more than ever of Stiles. She giggled quietly, but nodded her head in confirmation and excitement.

“That would be so cool, I wasn't at the beach since forever.”

“Lydia.” Stiles groaned beside her and let his head fall in his neck. “We wanted to do something today.”

“We are doing something together.” Lydia answered and smiled up to him. She knew he always got weak, when she smiled at him.

“ _Alone_.” Stiles clarified and tried his best to ignore Lydia's beautiful smile. He'd really looked forward to spent some time with his girlfriend alone without their friends or parents right around the corner.

“Come on, it'll be fun. I really want to go to the beach.”

“I would've taken you there, if you'd say something, you know.” Stiles mumbled, but he already knew he lost that one. It was hard for him to decline Lydia anything. And most of the times he didn't really care where they were, as long as she was with him. But this time he really had wished to have her by himself.

Melissa watched the two of them, before deciding to interject. “It's okay, we can go some other time together.” She said gently, because she once was a teenager too and she always had been looking forward to date nights back then as well.

“No, we're coming with you.” Lydia ensured the other woman and then turned to Stiles again. “We can still do something afterwards, baby.”

Stiles huffed and let his arm drop down from where he had put it on Lydia's backrest before. He felt his father's amused eyes on him, he knew as well, that Stiles had lost this argument since he started it.

“Fine. But I'm not going to have fun.” He said sulkily and crossed his arms over his chest, looking like a brooding child and making Melissa and the Sheriff laugh.

“You're going to have fun.” Lydia replied stubbornly, but with a big smile on her lips.

“We make sure of it.” Scott quipped in and smirked at Lydia, receiving a fist bump from her over the table.

Stiles only let out another huff through his nose.

* * *

After their late breakfast, Noah told the boys to clean the dishes, while he packed a few things for their trip. Melissa stayed with Scott and Stiles in the kitchen, preparing some snacks for later and Lydia went upstairs to unpack her stuff and look for her bikini. She knew, she still had one somewhere in Stiles' closet from their last visit to the lake house a few months ago, but she didn't know where she put it.

Grumbling to herself, she stuck her head in the closet, digging her way through Stiles' clothes. She found various of her panties and bras, she hadn't seen for a while, but not what she actually was looking for. She sighed and ran a hand through her long curls, as her phone vibrated, signalizing she got a message. Lydia took the phone out of the pocket of her dress and unlocked it, when she saw it was Allison.

Lydia sighed. Allison was often the one who had to bare all fights around her. Whenever Lydia and Stiles fought, it was Allison, who had to listen to both of them complaining, because she was the best friend of them both. Isaac and her dad were also arguing quite often about everything and nothing and she always was right in the middle of it. But Lydia knew a way to cheer her up.

Quicker than ever, Allison replied to her, simply writing 'deal'.

Laughing at her friend, Lydia shook her head and shoved her phone back into her dress pocket. She stopped looking for her bikini and decided to borrow one of Allison's, when they would pick her up. She went down the stairs and announced the news, Scott's head whipped around at her words and he tried -and failed- to suppress a smile. Lydia would tell Allison about that. There was no better way to cheer her up than bring her closer to Scott at the moment. Allison had developed a serious crush on him and Lydia knew it was the same the other way around.

When all of them were ready, Lydia sent Allison a quick text they would come and pick her up. She was excited like a little girl, but didn't even think about hiding her delight. Stiles and her had gone to a concert on their first date and had decided to take a walk along the beach right after that. Her mom had been furious, because she'd arrived way too late at home than originally planned, but everything her mom had said to her that night didn't matter, because she had spent a perfect date with a boy, she had known she would love wholeheartedly some day, and had had her very first kiss at the beach like in a romantic movie -well technically she had kissed him before that already, during one of his panic attacks, but her official first kiss had been at the beach. And that's why she was always more than happy to go back there.

They decided to drive with the Sheriff's car, the Sequoia having enough room for all of them, thanks to the third row seat. Noah quickly packed their stuff into the trunk, before getting into the driver seat, Melissa sitting beside him and the teenagers in back with Lydia in the middle.

They drove the short way to the Argent's, having Lydia crawling over Stiles to get out of the car. She let herself in the house, just as she had done at the Stilinski's house before and went quickly up the stairs to get into Allison's room. The girls greeted each other with hugs and big smiles on their faces. Stiles maybe was Allison's male best friend, but it was also really nice to have close female friends like Kira and Lydia, who had the same 'girl problems' as her.

Allison got Lydia one of her bikinis, a floral printed one, which she took gratefully. The brunette waited for her friend to get ready, drumming her fingers impatiently against her arm. She couldn't wait to see Scott again. They had gotten much closer over the past week, had shared a lot stories about their lives, while simultaneously working on their project for school.

When Lydia had changed, she went in front of the mirror and pulled her strawberry-blonde hair in one hand together. “You know, Scott was really excited when I told him you'd join us.” Lydia grinned at Allison through the mirror, while fixating her hair into a messy bun.

The other girl smiled brightly and bit her lip shortly, before replying. “I start to really like him and that's so ridicules, because I barely know him, but.. god, he's just so different.”

“Different, huh?” Lydia answered with a smirk.

“You know what I mean. He's.. he's..”

“He's your Stiles.”

Allison nodded at Lydia's words, because yeah, she fell for Scott just as quickly as Lydia had for Stiles. Of course they had all known each other since they were kids. All of them used to play in the sandbox together, but then they'd gotten older and Lydia had found other friends to hang out with. And with new friends followed new interests. Suddenly it had been more important for Lydia how she looked like and what others thought of her, while Allison, Kira, Isaac and Stiles had been still the same kids, who only needed each other. It wasn't until Stiles had lost his mother and had panic attacks during classes, that Lydia had noticed him again and therefore found her way back to her old friends again.

“Come on, we shouldn't let them wait any longer.” Lydia said and smoothed her dress straight, before grabbing Allison by the hand and pulling her out of the room. Allison said her goodbyes to her dad and then followed Lydia out of the front door. They hopped into the car, Allison in one of the third row seats and Lydia between the boys again. Allison greeted them all, but her gaze stayed locked with Scott's.

It was a little over an hour drive, but they knew how to have fun during the ride. Allison and Stiles were either singing embarrassing loudly along songs or were arguing like siblings about needless things like which window should stay open and which closed, while hitting and pinching each other in the arms or Allison pulling Stiles' hair behind him. The rest of them only laughed at the two and Scott thought, that's what family must felt like.

When Noah finally pulled in the parking lot at the beach, they all got out of the car. The Sheriff took their bag out of the trunk, before they made their way over to the water. The beach wasn't too crowded. There were a few people, but it was still enough room to have some privacy. The family settled down in an empty spot in the middle and Noah pulled their large beach towels out of the bag to spread them out.

They stripped out of their clothes, leaving Noah, Scott and Stiles in their swimming shorts and Allison, Lydia and Melissa in bikinis. Scott swallowed at the sight of Allison, but tried his very best to not stare at her. He didn't want to leave the impression he'd only be interested in her body -even though it was a really really nice body- but he respected her way too much for that. Lydia though observed both of them and not only caught Scott checking out Allison, but the other way around as well. She pressed her lips together to keep her grin at bay, but couldn't stop herself and winked at Allison, when she turned to look at her. Allison only rolled her eyes, a habit she learned from Stiles.

“What did you do to your back?” Melissa gasped at Stiles, bringing everyone's attention to the boy, who stood on one of the towels and looked confused behind him, trying to see what everyone else saw. He caught Lydia's eyes behind him and when she started laughing, he knew what Melissa was talking about. Stiles was so used to injuring himself, that he mostly forgot about how he even got them.

“I um, I fell backwards in the bathtub.” He replied and run his hand through his messy brown hair, causing a few strands to fall into his eyes.

“You fell in the bathtub? How did you manage to get striped bruises?” Melissa wondered, while eyeing the one large bruise, stretching over the middle of Stiles' back. Stiles turned around and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I sat on the bathtub, I wasn't standing inside. And then I just fell backwards with my back on the edge and yeah..” Stiles tried to explain. Lydia came up to his side and laid one arm around the middle of Stiles back, right under his bruise, while trying her best to not laugh again. Stiles put his arm lazily around her shoulders, but didn't miss the chance to pinch her arm softly. She was enjoying this way too much. Lydia only grinned innocently up to him.

Melissa nodded at Stiles' explanation, but still had a worried look on her face. His dad on the other hand didn't seem to break his mind around it so much. It was nothing new to him, that his son got hurt. Through Stiles' whole childhood and teenage years, he had seen lot of broken or sprained legs and arms, even one or two concussions, so a bruise wasn't something the Sheriff worried much about. As bad as it sounded, he got kinda used to Stiles recklessness and him getting himself hurt.

“Don't worry, Melissa, okay? It's just a bruise. If there's one thing to know about me, I constantly get hurt. Don't know how-”

“You don't know how?” Lydia threw in and raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend in disbelieve. “Well, I can tell you. You're thoughtless, impulsive and have an unhealthy urge of getting yourself in trouble. That's the way.”

“Thanks, smartass.” He said to Lydia and pulled once on her messy bun. Lydia shrieked and slapped him on the stomach. Stiles pointed at his stomach and this time he was the one to raise his brows. “See, this is the reason I'm covered in bruises. You.”

“Yeah, he's right. Every time I caught them after sex, he looked really roughed up. I don't know what you two do in bed, but-”

“Allison!” Lydia hissed at her friend's words. Melissa didn't know if she should laugh or be shocked at what she just heard.

“Right! Remember my first school day, when they sneaked off to the bathroom? I think his arms were _bleeding_ afterwards.” Scott quipped in and Allison started laughing loudly. They were already a good team together -at least against Lydia and Stiles.

“Stiles! You two messed around in school again?! Did you get caught again? Do I have to prepare myself for another sex-talk with Coach on the next parent-teacher conference? I told you that's something I don't want to repeat again!” The Sheriff huffed out and pointed at his son in mild anger. There had been this one time, Noah had received a call from Coach, getting told the teacher caught his dearest son in the locker room, Stiles' pants around his ankles, Lydia's legs around his hips. There were things in life, you just didn't want to discuss with your kid's teacher and this definitely had been on the list. And Noah had no interest to repeat that.

“Wait? Coach caught you two having sex?” Scott uttered in surprise. Stiles groaned loudly and threw his head in his neck. He ignored Scott's questions -the answer to that was quite obvious-, but told his dad no, he didn't get caught again.

Lydia buried her face in Stiles' arm and sighed. Somehow they always managed to put everyone's attention on their sex life.

“I told you the beach was a bad idea.” Stiles mumbled in Lydia's direction.

The situation was so ridiculous, that Melissa couldn't help but laugh -wholeheartedly. She held her stomach and bend slightly forward, her eyes filling with tears. Noah and the teenagers turned to look at her now and Lydia thought whatever got her into this laughing fit just saved her from more embarrassing sex stories.

Melissa held her hand up, silently telling them to hold on. Her laughing ebbed off and she took a few deep breaths, before speaking up. “I'm sorry, this is just.. this is hilarious. We somehow got from innocent bruises to.. to sex in school and teachers showing up during it.”

Stiles eyed Melissa and he somehow found it really sympathetically, that the woman would rather laugh about things like that, than getting angry, disgusted or similar things.

“Well, I technically got this bruises right after having phone sex, so maybe it wasn't that innocent from the beginning.” Stiles admitted sheepishly and threw Melissa in a next round of laughter. Maybe sex was a difficult topic with teenagers, but she always talked to Scott openly about things like that. She rather wanted to show her son he could talk to her about anything, than having him hide from her. So she would be just as understanding and relaxed about it with Stiles.

Allison and Scott joined Melissa in laughing and Noah only shook his head at them at first, but then he couldn't stop his own chuckling. Lydia and Stiles only looked at each other helplessly, before Stiles shrugged one shoulder and put a kiss to Lydia's temple.

“At least we can make everyone laugh. It could be worse.” He whispered to her and that's when her own lips curled up in a big grin as well.

* * *

They all spent a great day together at the beach; laughing, talking and playing games together. For Noah it finally felt like he was having the family again, he'd lost over three years ago. There was nothing more precious than family and it was nice to finally being able to build one again. Noah always would keep Claudia in his heart, but it was definitely time for him to move on. And it wasn't just for him. He hoped Stiles' wounds would heal as well.

After spending over an hour together in the water and teaming up against each other with Allison on Scott's shoulders, Lydia on Stiles', and Melissa on the Sheriff's ones, and the girls trying to shove each other off of the boy's shoulders, they had decided to take a break and lie down on the towels for a change.

Allison and Stiles stayed behind in the water, with Allison in one of their swim rings and Stiles' arms on top of the ring, so she wouldn't float away.

“You know I start to like him, don't you?” Allison asked softly, while looking over to Stiles where he was paddling with his feet in the water.

“Yeah.” He answered just as quietly, his voice sounding rough and vulnerable, and he hoped she didn't hear it. Allison kept quiet for a while, dipping her feet into the water and drawing patterns with her fingers on the material of the swim ring.

“And you also know this won't change a thing between us, right?”

Stiles stayed silent. He adverted his gaze and looked down to his fingers instead, which he was drumming once again anxiously against his crossed arms.

“We're best friends since we were little kids and that's never gonna change. When you came together with Lydia you didn't turn your back on me either, did you?”

“No, I didn't.” Stiles agreed. He knew it wasn't easy be friends with him, though Allison had never complained, not even once. She was always understanding and helpful. She deserved to be happy and she deserved the same amount of trust she gave to Stiles.

“Please keep that in mind, yeah? I love you, pal.” She said and poked him playfully in his cheek. Stiles lips curled up a little, while he raised his gaze back on her face. He watched her for a few seconds and then replied.

“Ditto, buddy.”

Allison grinned at him as she let silence wash over them again. Stiles really was her best friend. He had helped her through a lot as well over the years and he always wanted the best for her. So she wanted him to know, she would always stay at his side.

“Bro's before hoes?” She asked him after a moment and offered him her fist. Stiles raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at her.

“Did you just call Scott a hoe?”

“Well, hopefully he's gonna be my hoe soon.” She replied casually.

Stiles let out a chuckle, but pressed his fist against Allison's one.

They slowly paddled out of the water, deciding to join the rest of the group on land. Stiles helped Allison out of the swim ring, before hooking the ring around his arm. The friends made their way through the sand in silence until Stiles spoke up.

“He likes you, too.”

“Yeah, I know.” Allison answered. She couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face.

“You're happy?” He asked.

“I'm really happy at the moment.”

“Good, you deserve to be happy.” Stiles said and kissed the top of her head, right before they reached the others. Allison smiled one last time at her best friend, before she sat down beside Scott, who offered her a separate towel. She thanked him and wrapped her upper body in the towel. Stiles let himself fall down between Lydia's legs, resting his arms on her stomach and his head on top of his arms.

“You're making me all wet.” Lydia giggled and brushed the cold water off her belly.

“Oh believe me, you don't have to tell me.” He replied and wiggled his brows at her. Lydia only snapped her finger against her boyfriends nose, while Noah pulled the first thing he got in his hand out of the bag and threw it at his son for pulling of dirty talk so easily in front of them all. Stiles whined over dramatically as the sun-cream bottle landed on his back. Lydia took it and opened it to let a few drops land on Stiles' back.

“You're way too pale for walking carelessly in the sun without sun-blocker.” She lectured him and rubbed the cream in his already reddening skin. When she was done, she laid herself back down on her back and put the rest of the cream on her hands over his face. Stiles only watched her from his spot between her legs, his head resting on her stomach again after she had laid down.

“You take care of me, so I'm not worrying much.” He replied and then put a kiss on her belly. Lydia started to style Stiles' wet hair in spikes, making him look like a punk rocker. Stiles let her. He trailed one of his hands along her leg, keeping the other still rested under his head on her stomach. He let his finger wander innocently along the stretch marks on her inner thighs, stroking her skin softly without having any dirty thoughts in his mind for once. Lydia enjoyed his touch, while she listened to Melissa, Noah and Scott talking something about lacrosse.

Allison was occupied on plundering the back with the snacks and drinks, until her eyes fell on a card deck. She pulled it out of the bag and raised it in the air, waving it around in question. Scott was immediately on board, telling them that he used to play a lot of card games with his dad as a kid. The rest decided to join as well, so Lydia and Stiles got up from their lying positions.

And while the teenagers started arguing about which game they should play, Melissa leaned against Noah's side, who trapped his arm over her shoulders and bend down to whisper in her ear:

“We're a family.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter. I didn't read it proof, because I'm way too tired, but I wanted to upload the chapter anyway.  
> As always I would be happy if you leave a comment and tell me what you like to see in future chapters or simply if you enjoyed this chapter here. It's always great to read what you think of the story so far. xx


	6. Count Your Fingers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please have a look at the notes at the end  
> 

On Monday morning, Stiles slipped tiredly out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, while going through his dresser to pick a new pair of boxer shorts. He hadn't slept well at all. A night full of constant turning from one side to the other, bad dreams and sweating. Even now he still felt too hot. He was in desperate need of a shower.

Scott was still snoring on his mattress, so Stiles went over and poked the other teenager's leg sticking out of the blankets with his foot to wake him up. When Scott awoke grumbling, Stiles made his way out of the room and into the bathroom. He ignored his reflection in the mirror, guessing he couldn't look any better than his haunting demon-self in his nightmares. Instead he stripped down, dumping his sweat soaked clothes in the hamper and stepped into the shower.

Stiles closed his eyes under the spray, letting the water wash away the fears of his nightmares. However not his demons, they didn't mind water, they knew how to swim and wouldn't drown any time soon.

Stiles washed his hair and body silently, his gaze trained down to his feet, where he watched the water disappear into the drain. Sometimes, he felt older than he actually was, mostly on days like this one, when he hadn't slept well at all and felt irritated. It was only morning, but Stiles couldn't wait for the day to end.

When he was done washing the shampoo off of his body, he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He dried himself, starting at the bottom and ending at the top, where he ruffled his hair with a towel. After that, he hung it on the towel rail. He slipped into his fresh pair of boxers, before starting to brush his teeth. Fortunately, he couldn't see himself in the mirror, steam clouding his view.

Stiles heard a rumble and his father swearing quietly right after that. With furrowed brows he spat the toothpaste into the sink, washed his mouth out and then went out of the bathroom to look after the noise. He found his dad standing in the corridor, right before the spare room Scott was supposed to get. There were already six dust covered boxes in the hallway, which had been in the room before. Stiles knew it was his mother's stuff.

Slowly he went over to his dad, watching him carefully as Noah hoisted another box into his arms. When he turned around, he let out a surprised noise at the sight of his son.

“Morning, kiddo.”

“What are you doing?” Stiles asked right away, even though he saw what his father was doing.

“Cleaning up Scott's room. At some point I have to start.” The Sheriff mumbled as an answer, before he ducked inside the room again. Stiles crouched down beside the boxes and swiped the dust off of one. He carefully opened it and caught sight of his mom's books. He took one out, grazing his thumb over the cover, before looking up to his dad, who stepped out of the room again.

“Where do we put all this stuff?” Stiles asked quietly and averted his gaze again, as he started flipping the pages of the book. The Sheriff sighed audibly and crouched down beside Stiles. He took the book gently out of his son's hands and laid it back into the box.

“Stiles..” Noah started gingerly. “I think we should discard most of it.”

“What?!” Stiles yelled and stood up immediately. His dad followed and he held a hand up, trying to calm the teenager down. Noah knew this would get trouble, but he couldn't horde his dead wife's things forever.

She'd died a little over three years ago, when Stiles had just turned 14. The Sheriff was aware that wasn't much time to get fully over the loss - he had been in deep grieve for a year and a half himself until he had met Melissa and he surely didn't intend to fall in love with her so quickly after Claudia's death. But it had happened. He had been in a deep dark hole and Melissa had saved him. He still missed Claudia and a part of him would always love her, but he was ready to move on. He had to or he would always stuck where he was now; somewhere between starting a new life and still holding onto his old one.

"Listen, you can look through all of this and keep some stuff, but most of it-"

"No, forget it! We won't throw anything away." Stiles' voice raised with every word. He couldn't believe his father. It was one thing to move everything into another room, but getting rid of it? No, he wouldn't allow that.

Scott poked his head out of room to look for what caused Stiles to start yelling. It looked like Noah finally started going through everything in the spare room. From what he had heard, he assumed there were some things Stiles wanted to keep. He heard his mom coming up the stairs, seemingly curious about all the yelling as well.

"Stiles, stop it. We can't keep it all. You don't need old stuff to remember your mom. You'll keep her in your heart." Noah said softly, trying to lay out all the logical things Stiles couldn't see at the moment.

But Stiles only laughed humorlessly. "Remember her in my heart, huh? Where did you get that bullshit from?"

"Watch your language, you're not talking to me like that." Noah warned. It was one thing when Stiles constantly swore, but he wouldn't allow him to talk this disrespectfully to him.

"Why? You're trying to erase mom here, make it look like she never lived her, never fucking existed!" Stiles screamed at his dad. He couldn't help it. When it came to his mom, he couldn't stay calm.

Melissa swallowed at Stiles words and went over to Scott. She placed a hand on his back and pushed him gently out of the room. "Go shower, yeah? You can't be late for school today."

Scott nodded and made his way to the bathroom, giving Stiles and his dad some privacy. And his mom was right too, he couldn't be late. Today, Coach went with them on a field trip and the bus would leave at 8am.

When Scott was gone, Melissa walked over to Noah and Stiles. On one hand she wanted to let them handle things on their own, but on the other, she wanted to support Noah and let him know he wasn't on his own.

The Sheriff only shook his head, seemingly lost at words, so Melissa tried her best to talk to Stiles. She reached out to place a hand on the boy's arm, but he jerked away and took a few steps back.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Stiles growled. Melissa took her hand back instantly and apologized. She wasn't naive enough to think one day at the beach would solve every problem, but she had hoped they would get along better now.

"Hey!" Noah interfered. "I know you're mad right now, but that doesn't mean you can talk to us like that."

“Fuck that.” Stiles muttered under his breath, before turning around and walking back into his room with quick steps. He went to his closet and grabbed the first clothes he got into his hands. His dad entered the room shortly after, but Stiles ignored him, while pulling his jeans over his legs. He threw his shirt on and then searched for a hoodie to wear over it.

Noah watched him pulling on a pair of socks and then his black converse, before Stiles stood up and grabbed his phone, which he pushed into the pockets of his hoodie. Then he took his keys, the bag he had packed for the field trip and his pillow, which he stuck between the handles of his bag. He walked over to the doorway, but his dad blocked the way.

“Give me you keys, Stiles.” He said in a soft voice and held his hand out.

“What? No! Why?” The teenager asked and pressed his keys to his own chest, so his father wouldn't be able to just grab them.

“Because I said I would drive you and Scott to school and because I don't want you to drive by yourself when you're angry.” Noah explained patiently. He was so calm, it irritated Stiles even more. He tried to push his way through the doorway, but the Sheriff held him back by his arms. He made it clear, he wouldn't allow Stiles to just rush out like that.

Stiles struggled out of his dad's grasp, standing in the middle of the room and breathing hard against his rage. He was the one getting punished now, because his dad thought it was a good idea to throw everything his mom had owned into the trash. How was that fair?

He let out a frustrated yell, before throwing his keys at his father. The Sheriff caught them easily in his hand and stuffed them into his pockets.

"I loved your mother and she's always gonna stay in my heart. And it's gonna be hard to part from her things, but in the end they're just that. Things."

"Yeah, meaningless stuff like her favorite sweater she always wore, when she went into the park with me. Like her book collection she used to read me out of. Like her paintings she put all her passion into. Got it." Stiles replied sarcastically, causing his father's expression to sadden. He didn't want to make his dad sad, but he wanted him to know how much these things meant to him simply because they'd meant so much to his mother.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, but we need to sort these out. As I said, you can keep what means most to you, but we need to let go of the rest." Noah put a small sad smile on his face, before turning to leave the room. He found Scott in the hallway with only a towel around his hips and his sleeping clothes in his arms.

"Go ahead, Scott." The Sheriff assured and petted Scott's shoulder twice, only then walking around him to join Melissa, who had gone downstairs again.

Scott watched Noah walking down, a doubtful expression on his face, but he braced himself and then went through the open door. Stiles stood in the middle of his room, seemingly lost, his bag and pillow still in his hand. He looked up to Scott and before he could say anything, Stiles pulled the hood over his wet hair and exited the room, thundering down the stairs.

It was the first real fight Scott had experienced between Noah and Stiles and even though it wasn't long, it felt pretty intense. Claudia was a touchy subject and he could absolutely understand that. He didn't know what he would do, if his mother ever died that soon.

Sighing quietly to himself, Scott got ready for school. He dressed, brought his towel back into the bathroom and did his hair. When he was done, he grabbed his bag and made his way cautiously down the stairs. Stiles sat broodingly on the sofa, the hood still over his head and headphones plugged in his ears, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his hoodie. Scott didn't know what to do, so he decided it may be the best to leave him alone until he was with Lydia later.

He sat his bag down beside the front door and then walked into the kitchen. The air was thick and awkward, but both his mother and Noah brushed it off and tried to act casually. So breakfast was a little stiff, but they made the best out of it and talked about unimportant things just to fill the silence.

Especially Melissa felt really uncomfortable about the fight. For Noah it was nothing new to have to deal with an outraging Stiles, but Melissa never had to deal with a teenager like that - at least not in a personal manner. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. Maybe it still had been too soon and they should've wait with moving together. She felt like an intruder in Stiles life, taking everything away he still held onto. Melissa kept her feelings down during breakfast, but she would make sure to talk to Noah about it later.

After breakfast, Noah and Scott cleaned up together, while Melissa made a sandwich for Stiles to eat during the bus ride. Noah told her, she didn't need to do that, Stiles was old enough to know he would be hungry, if he skipped breakfast out of a mood and that Melissa shouldn't spoil him like that. But she didn't listen to him. She already felt guilty enough.

She put the food into a sandwich bag and went into the living room, where Stiles sat on the couch. Melissa held the sandwich in front of his face and put a small smile on her lips. Stiles took one of the headphone plugs out of his ear and looked at the woman in front of him.

"I made you a sandwich."

"No, thanks." Stiles said in a small voice and was about to put the headphone back into his ear, but Melissa stopped him gently with a raised hand, not daring to try and touch him again.

"I really don't want you to be hungry during the bus ride. Please take it."

Stiles didn't want to. He was angry and mad - not specifically at Melissa but still. He just wanted to get out of the house and away from his dad. Stiles usually was never mad at his dad for long. He wouldn't bare, if something happened to his father and the last thing he would say to him would be something regrettable. But right now he couldn't help himself, he just needed some space. He felt like he would suffocate, if he stayed any longer in this house.

"You know what, I just put it in your bag, okay?" Melissa said softly and when Stiles didn't reply, she made her way over to his bag and put it inside there.

Soon after that, Noah collected his keys and waited for the boys to follow him outside. Scott hugged his mom goodbye and told her, he would text as soon as they arrived. Stiles went out of the front door wordlessly.

The drive to school was short, but tense. Scott didn't dare to say anything, stuck helplessly between the two, because he certainly didn't want to pick sides. Stiles didn't say anything either. He just sat silently in the front seat and looked out of the window, while listening to the music he had on his phone.

Sometimes, Stiles didn't really listen to the music, just let it play in the background, so it wouldn't be so silent around him. Mostly, however, he took all the music in - all instruments, the beat and the lyrics. Especially the lyrics could be so powerful, the most relatable part of a song. So when The Heavy's 'Last Confession' started playing, Stiles closed his eyes and let himself drown in the lyrics, because there was nothing he could relate more to in the moment.

 _Hear me mother, your lonely son_  
_I'm sure you did what you could_  
_But too much of a poison makes a good man turn to bad_  
_If I could stop it, oh I only would_  
  
_I tried to defeat_  
_I tried to delete ya_  
_I need you to know_  
_I need to let go_

When the song was over, Stiles opened his eyes again and the school building came into his sight. As soon as his dad parked the car, he got out of it. He went to the trunk to get his bag and pillow, and let it open for Scott, before turning to make his way over to the bus, where most of the students were already waiting.

But Noah grabbed Stiles hoodie at the back and pulled him gently backwards again. He didn't care Stiles was in a mood at the moment, that was no excuse for being rude. Stiles only rolled his eyes, but he stayed put, scanning the little crowd with his eyes until he found what he was looking for. Allison, Kira, Lydia and Isaac where already standing beside the bus, Mr. Argent a few feet away as well.

Together, the three of them made their way over to the group. Stiles pulled his headphones out of his ears to greet everyone with a quiet 'Hey'. The group said their hellos as well, Allison and Scott greeting each other with a hug and the Sheriff and Mr. Argent with a handshake.

They kept light conversation, except for Stiles. Lydia was watching him closely. After a few years of being together she noticed pretty quickly when something was off, but she didn't want to say anything in front of everyone. She would ask him about it later.

It wasn't until Coach arrived at the bus, that Stiles grabbed his bag again to make his way over to the teacher. He couldn't wait to get away from that suffocating town and this whole family trouble. His quick disappearance didn't get away unnoticed and Argent raised a questioning brow at the Sheriff, who in return only sighed and said something about troubling teenagers. Argent understood immediately, he had a teenager of that kind himself.

The others followed Stiles nonetheless. Allison and Isaac saying their goodbyes to Chris, just as Scott to Noah, before they all went into the bus alongside Kira and Lydia. The Sheriff held Stiles back by his hoodie again to stop him from going into the bus without saying goodbye.

“I won't see you for a few days, the last thing you can do is giving your old man a hug.” Noah said with a gentle smile. Stiles only watched him for a couple seconds, deciding on what to do. He would hate himself for it later, if he turned his dad down, but he was just so mad at him right now. He huffed his anger through his nose, but took a step forward to wrap his free arm around his dad's neck. Noah's smile brightened as he hugged his son back. Stiles kept it short though, so he pulled away rather quickly and went without another word through the bus door.

He found a seat next to Allison, Lydia sitting beside Kira on their right side, and Isaac beside Scott behind them. Allison let him slid in the seat next to the window. He put his bag underneath the seat and hugged his pillow to his chest, suppressing a yawn.

Coach checked if everyone was settled, before sitting down in the front himself and then giving the bus driver a thumbs up to signal they were ready to drive.

It wasn't long til Allison asked him what happened that morning, she had clearly seen the tension between him and his dad. Stiles sighed, but started to explain in a quiet voice, not really wanting anyone other of the class to hear. So he told her about his mom's stuff, how much most of it had meant so much to her and therefore also to him. He told her about his dad's reaction, that he seemingly didn't even care the slightest bit as if he wouldn't even think of his mom anymore since Melissa moved in with them.

“I'm not saying he shouldn't be happy with Melissa, but I can't help but feel like he tries to erase my mom. I mean, just because he's over her, doesn't mean _I_ can just live without her.”

“Stiles..” Allison started and thought of any words to reassure him. It was always hard to talk to Stiles about his mom. She always had to choose her words wisely or he would get it the wrong way and get angry. She could understand that though. She was so close to her own dad, she wouldn't bare if anything happened to him.

“Allison, I swear, he changes everything. The whole house looks so.. different. There flowers everywhere and.. and.. and fluffy rugs, I mean what the hell? And now he's throwing all her stuff away and what's next? He..” Stiles took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, because he really really didn't want to have a panic attack in the bus. “It seems like he wants to get rid of everything, that could remind him of her. And if he could, he would erase me right away as well, because I'm clearly the only thing left in the house, that- ow!”

Allison let out an annoyed huff, as she punched Stiles with a closed fist on his upper arm. She leaned in closely and looked him in the eye, while raising a warning finger at him. “Don't even go there, you idiot. Do you listen to yourself sometimes? You talk bullshit.” She kept her voice in a harsh whisper, just as Stiles had done the whole time, but she instantly felt watched after her little outbreak and when she turned her head, she saw everyone near them quickly avert their eyes again and acting as if they hadn't just noisily starred at them. Stiles saw it, too and he let out another sigh. He crossed his arms over his pillow and looked out of the window.

“That's why I don't like talking about that stuff.” Stiles started modestly. “It isn't like anyone understands anyway.”

“I do understand, Stiles.” Allison threw in softly. “Your dad moves on and makes some really big steps and it's hard for you to catch up with him. I get it, okay? But never think your dad wouldn't love you or would try to get rid of you. You mean everything to him.”

Stiles looked down to his hands clutching his pillow. She was right. He knew that and he acted like an ass towards his dad, but that didn't change how he felt about his mom. He wasn't ready to give her up.

“I'm tired.” He said instead of an actual answer. He really was tired. He hadn't slept well and the morning started shitty and he was so done with the world, he just wanted to sleep – peacefully, for once. He didn't even bother suppressing his yawn, as he pushed his pillow against the window and laid his head on it. He didn't intend to sleep, it wasn't like he would be able to anyway. He just wanted to sit more comfortable.

“How are you?” Stiles asked after a moment. He wasn't selfish, but there was so much going on in his life – like all the time -, he sometimes just forgot his friends had problems as well. But in the end, he would always make sure they were okay.

“I'm fine.” Allison answered, while pulling her legs up the seat and crossing them underneath her. “Dad and Isaac are finally getting along again and yeah.. I've got nothing to complain about.” She ended with a smile in Stiles direction. Allison was hardly one to cry over things. She was strong and never gave up too quickly. She was happy though, that Stiles wanted to know how she was feeling. That's why he was her best friend. They looked out for each other.

Stiles looked over to Allison and let the corners of his lips raise to a little smile. He was happy for her and to know she was feeling good actually made him feel better as well. His friends were often the reason why he felt better, especially whenever he had family drama with his dad.

Allison laid her head against Stiles' shoulder, while unlocking her phone and starting to lazily play a game on it. Life actually wasn't so shitty, when you had your friends by your side.

* * *

 

“Damn, I'm hungry.” Stiles muttered and rubbed his belly, after not even driving for half an hour. His stomach made a rumbling noise, signalizing that he was indeed in need of food. He already regretted skipping breakfast.

“Mom made you a sandwich, remember?” Scott reminded him cheekily from the seat behind him. Stiles turned around and looked over to Scott, who grinned at him. Stiles rolled his eyes and considered what to do. He gnawed at his bottom lip and fell back into the seat again. He didn't want to eat that sandwich. He was stubborn.

“Oh no, Mister. You gonna eat that.” Allison announced beside him, before turning around to look at Scott. “Where is that sandwich?” Scott answered and told her it was in Stiles' bag. She stood up and bend over the seat to make a grab for the bag.

“I wanna take a nap and I'm not gonna bare you groaning all over the place just because you're hungry and too stubborn to eat something your lovely stepmom did for you.”

“She's not-”

“She is you stepmom, get over it.” Allison cut Stiles off right away and succeed, because Stiles actually shut his mouth. Stiles liked being in control, he liked being the one, who could easily see through people; liked being the one, who knew everything. He was way too often weak, when he had panic attacks or just couldn't control his temper. But just because he liked being the one in control, didn't mean that was always something he needed. Because what he needed were friends like Allison, who were strong and could put up with him. With his moods and stubbornness and his constant pessimistic talking. He needed friends, who could show him, it was okay to let go for once.

Allison found the sandwich right on top of Stiles' other stuff and took it out, before closing the bag and shoving it under her friend's seat again. She passed him the food and raised a warning brow at him. Stiles took the sandwich and eyed it warily. He knew he behaved like a complete idiot, but it was hard for him to take something from Melissa.

“Don't make me feed you, Stilinski.” Allison said and made a move to grab the sandwich again. Stiles held it out of her reach and began to open the sandwich bag, which made Allison smile brightly at him.

“Good boy.” She praised him and petted his hoodie covered head.

“Fuck off, Argent.” Stiles grumbled, but Allison knew him way too well to get offended. She just grinned at him, before standing up again and stretching her arms over her head.

“Switch seats with me Lydia? I can't take your asshole boyfriend anymore.” She said in a sweet voice just to tease Stiles some more.

“I heard that.” He mumbled, while nibbling on his sandwich.

“Good.” Allison shot him a smirk over her shoulder. He raised his middle finger at her, but couldn't hide the smile that crept over his lips.

Lydia nudged Kira's knee with her own a last time, before standing up to switch seats with Allison. She let herself fall beside Stiles, while Allison made a move to sit beside Kira, but Isaac stopped her.

“Wait, let me sit beside Kira. I wanna talk to her 'bout something.” Isaac said and stood up. He and Kira were really close. They were best friends, just as Allison and Stiles were. There was just something so calming about Kira, that helped Isaac to relax.

“Okay, but I didn't joke about that nap. So as long as Scott don't mind me using him as a pillow, we can switch.”

“Oh, he won't mind.” Isaac answered for Scott and sent him a wink, before going over to the free seat beside Kira. He greeted her with a smile and for a moment Allison didn't know what to do, but then she let herself sink down beside Scott.

It was a little awkward until Scott bent towards her a little and said: “Isaac's right. I really don't mind.”

Allison laughed and hid her amused face behind her hand. She really liked how open and genuine Scott was toward her. It made conversation so much easier. It just felt nice talking to him. Allison shrugged off her jacket and fold it together as a pillow, before laying it on Scott's shoulder and resting her head on it. She clearly wouldn't turn down his offer.

Scott's cheeks reddened and he felt really warm all of a sudden. His heart began to pump wildly in his chest, just because Allison rested her head against his shoulder. Well, she had a really nice head, so no one could judge him here.

It was just, that he never had felt something like that before. Allison made him smile only through her presence. She was something so special; the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she behaved. Scott couldn't help but watch himself crushing overly hard for Allison.

And even though it was a nice feeling – especially because Allison seemed to feel the same way – he was kinda anxious and nervous, because he didn't know how to go from there. He never had a real girlfriend before and he really didn't want to mess things up. Maybe he should talk to his mom about it. She always had good advice. He could try to talk to Stiles too, but he was actually afraid of how he would react. Scott was sure, Stiles knew by now he and Allison got closer, but just because he accepted it now, didn't mean he liked the idea of them together.

Scott suppressed a sigh. He didn't want to overthink things, not when Allison laid contently against him. Not when he felt her breath against his neck and her hair tickling his cheek.

Allison snuggled a little closer, before whispering. “I can hear you thinking.”

Scott looked down to her, but she had her head still on his shoulder, so he couldn't really see her face. He'd heard the smile in her voice though, so he decided to be brave. “I just thought this feels really nice.” He told her in a quiet voice, so nobody could listen in. Allison smiled brightly, when she heard his answer.

“I think so, too.” She replied truthfully. It was hard for her to understand how Scott could creep into her life so easily. Sure, he was really charming and friendly, but she could usually control her feelings way better. Not with Scott though. She heard him chuckle nervously and then he rested his head carefully against hers.

 _Yeah, that's really nice_ , Allison thought, before closing her eyes to take the nap she'd talked about, even though reality was so much better than dreamland at the moment.

The ride to the motel, they all would be staying in for the next few days, quickly went by. While Allison napped through the first hour, Stiles told Lydia about what had happened in the morning with his dad. He took it short, he didn't want to think or talk about it anymore, so he didn't get much into detail. But she listened patiently anyway, she always did. After that, they only sat beside each other, each one of them one headphone plug in the ear, and listened together to the music Stiles had on his phone. Kira and Isaac talked quietly every now and then, while playing some game on one of their phones.

The second half of the ride, when Allison was awake again, she and Stiles had an argument about which fruit would win, if it were able to fight. Allison said it would be a melon, while Stiles was convinced it would be a coconut. Allison claimed a coconut wasn't even a real fruit. Stiles said it was. And that's how their argument had started. Lydia and Scott looking helplessly at each other all the while, until Lydia had enough and googled whether or not coconut was a fruit. It was. And then Allison and Stiles started to fight about how he constantly was an annoying smartass.

That was nothing new between the two of them, they were like siblings on that manner. And though both of them could actually start screaming and swearing at each other during those arguments, Stiles liked that bond he and Allison had.

At some point after their silly fight, Allison asked Stiles to take a photo of them together. Kira and Isaac were so occupied in whatever they were doing, they didn't even hear Allison asking to take a picture with them. Lydia, who had chosen to ignore her friends somewhat during their discussion, was still way too annoyed to get involved in anything Allison and Stiles had planned, but managed the tiniest of a smile for the camera anyways.

So Stiles took the photo with his phone and looked over it afterwards, only to see that Scott's face was halfway covered by his head. He turned around to look at Scott with a raised brow and then scolded him for his failed pose. Scott took a quick glance at the picture and said it was the responsibility of the one who took the photo, that everybody looked good in it. Stiles said that was bullshit. Scott and Stiles got into an argument about photography.

After discussing with Scott over twenty minutes long, Stiles decided to let the topic drop, so he could upload the picture on twitter instead.

His morning had started shitty as hell, but during the ride, he had totally forgotten about everything. Stiles was happy to have his friends. He couldn't imagine going through his fucked up life without them.

After about two hours of driving, the bus finally stopped and everyone turned their heads to look out of the window and observe the location. It looked old and abandoned, almost like in a horror movie. The lights were flickering and there wasn't a single person anyway near.

“Holy shitting Christ, is that the right address?” Coach asked the driver, who confirmed it was the right place. The teacher swallowed, before chuckling. “Well, at least we're gonna have the place all by ourselves.”

Coach shooed his students out of the bus, saying he would be right back with the keys to the rooms and that everybody should stay put. Allison, Kira and Lydia sighed almost simultaneously, while looking over the place. Neither of them was thrilled about the location, but it wasn't like they could change it.

The students waited in front of the bus with their bags by their feet. Lydia stretched her arm out beside Stiles, so she could take off his hood and stroke her fingers through his still damp hair, trying to smooth the mess of curls. “Your hair is a mess.” She stated quietly.

“Suits his life.” Coach replied nonchalantly behind her, before holding his hand above his head to show he got the keys. The teenagers crowded around him in waiting.

Coach handed out a few keys, before saying. “And please, for the love of god, keep you dirty little hands by your dirty little selves.” His eyes wandered over the little crowd of students until they finally fell on Stiles. “Ain't that right, Stilinski?” He added and pressed two different keys in each Stiles' and Lydia's hands, silently telling them to go into separate rooms.

Lydia blushed deeply, but Stiles played along. “I would never not say no to that, Coach.”

“Damn, Stilinski, a triple negative.” Coach pointed out, just as Stiles had done a few months, when Coach had used a triple negative in the hallway.

“Proud of me?”

“Very.”

Stiles grinned broadly at Coach, before turning to Scott and separating from others. Scott and Stiles shared a room together, Isaac was with Boyd and the three girls decided on a room for three. Lydia asked Coach for another key, so the friends could be all together in one room and the teacher gave her another one without questioning anything further. The only thing he muttered was ' _teenage girls'._

The teenagers went off to their rooms, unpacking their stuff and settling in. Later on they would all meet up again with Coach. The whole idea of this trip was some kind of social project stuff. Neither of the students really knew why the school came up with something like that, but as long as they didn't need to go to class they all didn't mind. Coach had been the only available teacher for the trip and though he normally didn't do any social classes, he said as long as he got paid he didn't care where or what to teach the bunch of kids.

An hour later the friends decided to meet outside the rooms to look around the place for a while. Though the location was rather isolated and abandoned, the teenagers found enough things to entertain themselves for the next days. There was a playroom and Allison squeaked excited when she saw the dartboard on the wall. There was also a billiard table and one for playing ping pong, just as a cupboard filled with old board games.

The other class mates were discovering the place as well, most of them complaining about how trashy it looked, even Coach wasn't that thrilled to stay in a creepy motel like that, but that was all the school could afford apparently, so he kept a straight face for the students.

They kept passing the time by wandering around uselessly, until it was finally time to meet Coach in the leisure room. It wasn't hard to find, the motel wasn't that huge, so they found the room easily. It didn't look much better than the rest of the motel; the walls were blank and gray and the room echoed with every step.

Coach had prepared everything, while the students had been outside – which wasn't more than making a sitting circle out of chairs and reading over the papers he and Natalie Martin had prepared back in school together for the project. He wouldn't have known what to do during the time here, if it wasn't for her.

The students trotted in and sat themselves on the chairs in the circle. It was hard for them to imagine Coach teaching them anything social related. The idea of that was even more hilarious than anything else. But it was still better than going to school, so they would just go through this session.

When everyone was settled, Coach came into the middle. For a moment, he looked really lost. But even if he was the most clueless teacher right now, one thing he could do for sure: improvising.

“So!” Coach barked out and clapped his hands together, while looking over his students, who sat around him in the chairs. Neither of them really knew what to expect, so they kept quiet and listened to their teacher. “The school wants you to 'socialize', but we all know this won't ever work, so let's get this over with and call it a day.”

Stiles smirked at Coach's words, because yeah, he was probably right. Such things never worked out the way adults hoped it would. Teenager would always be cruel to each other, they would always split in groups and not tolerate each other. Jocks would always be Jocks; Cheerleaders would always be Cheerleaders and Nerds would always be Nerds. Sure, in their school everything was kinda different. They hadn't any Cheerleaders and the Jocks weren't those typical asshats – except for Jackson maybe. But still, everyone had their own little group and that wouldn't change, just because of a silly school experiment.

Coach walked out of their little circle to go and grab the box he had put to the side earlier. He came back in the middle with it in his hands and put it down to his feet. He opened the box and took a few note cards out. They couldn't see what was written on and Coach laid the cards on the floor with the blank side upward.

When he was done, he put the box aside again and sat himself down on the last free chair in their round. Coach crossed his arms over his chest and for a moment he looked lost in thoughts, before he raised his head and nodded in the direction of the several cards on the ground.

“Kira.” Coach said and caused the girl to look up nervously. “Take one of the cards, doesn't matter which one. And make sure no one can see what's written on it except for yourself.”

Kira hesitated for a few seconds and then stood up and went in the middle. She didn't like to be on display like that, so she quickly grabbed one card and read it; the word _friendly_ was written on it.

“Now I want you to put that card in front of the person, you think it fits most to. Try to chose someone you don't know that well. Except, of course, if it's something you think instantly of one of your friends.” Coach explained in a loud voice, but his whole demeanor seemed calm. He wasn't the most social person himself, but this was something he could do.

Kira looked down at the card again. Friendly was an easy word, she could chose anyone. In the end, she put the card in front of Erica – with the blank side upwards again. She was nice and always greeted Kira, even though they didn't know each other that well, so she guessed it fit her the most. After that she went back to her seat.

Coach pointed to Scott, who sat beside Kira and told him to do the same. They went clockwise and took turns to draw cards. Some words were easier to place, there was always lots of laughter, if someone immediately pointed to their friend and said 'that's so you!', even though all the others didn't know what stood on the card.

Only after all cards were gone, Coach spoke up again. “So, you just gave each other personality traits, the ones you thought would fit the others the most. Go ahead and read what others think of you.”

Everyone bend forward and collected their cards to read them. Coach looked over the faces of his students. They were all smiling and grinning. He gave them a moment, before he told them they should read the adjectives out loud. Kira started again. She got _geeky, studious, cheerful, creative, calm, playful, sweet_ and _dreamy._ She thought the traits fit her pretty well and was content with the way, people seemed to see her. Coach told her to chose one of the words she liked most and she decided on _cheerful_.

Scott was the next in the round. He also thought his words fit him and was happy he could show, who he was in that short of time he was at the school. He read out loud; _nice, charming, relaxed, sensitive, athletic, lovable_ and _optimistic._ Scott should chose his favorite word as well and he went with _optimistic_.

Lydia couldn't be happier with her traits. She had always worried way too much about what other people thought of her. Since she got together with Stiles it wasn't so bad anymore, but she still wanted to make a good impression. And when she looked down to her cards, she surely did a good job. ” _Smart, beautiful, perfect, leadership ability, passionate, popular._ ” She read as her lipstick painted lips formed into a smile. “And I think _passionate_ fits the most.“ She added.

Stiles was the next. He was the opposite to Lydia, he never really cared about others opinions. He liked the cards he got, but it really didn't matter to him. _Musically, clever, sarcastic, funny, candid, mischievous, loyal_ and _witty._ After he read it out loud, he looked down at the words a few moments longer, before adding, that his favorite trait was _mischievous_. His mom always liked that about him.

Isaac told the others about his cards; _tough, reflective, youthful, quiet, realistic, sympathetic_ and _compassionate._ He, similar to Stiles, didn't really give the whole thing much thought. He was in the lacrosse team, but except for that, he didn't interact much with others in school. And he didn't care for opinions from people, who didn't know him. After Coach reminded him he should pick the trait, he liked most about himself, he chose _realistic._

The last of the friends was Allison. She had been quite nervous, before she had read her cards. Mostly she kept calm during things like that, but she caught herself hoping the other students thought nicely of her. And then she had read the words; _helpful, genuine, patient, mature, peaceful, rational_ and _easygoing_ , and she couldn't help but smile. She liked all the traits the others had picked for her, but she decided _genuine_ was her favorite one.

When everyone was done, Coach kept silent for a few seconds, before clapping his hand together again like he did in the beginning. “Y'all smiling. That wasn't so bad, was it.” Coach smirked at them and then suddenly his face fell into it's natural grumpy look. “How come no one's crying their eyes out?”

The room fell silent and the students looked down to the cards in their hands like they could find the answer there. It was Stiles who answered. “There aren't any bad traits.”

Coach pointed at him, his grin back in place, before standing up and going over to the box again. He took another stack of note cards out of it and laid them like the others before on the floor in the middle. He sat back down and gestured for Kira to start again.

This time, she hesitated even more. The mood turned from cheerful to anxious and she didn't like it. Slowly, she went to the card and picked one. The word _invisible_ stood angrily in bold letters in the middle of the card. She swallowed.

“Excited much, I see.” Coach said dryly.

This was much harder and Kira knew, reading the cards later she'd receive would be even harder. She put the card in front of Greenberg's feet, before silently sitting down again. The second round was completely different than the first one. No one laughed, when their recognized a trait of their friends. Indeed, no one even said anything. It was silent the whole time.

It took them much longer to get the round finished, but when they did, Coach told them to take their cards and read them out loud. Kira didn't want to. But in the end she did it anyway. She flipped her cards, one after the other, while slowly reading. “ _Naive. Clumsy. Insecure. Garrulous. Giddy. Noisy_.” Kira bit her lip, while starring down at the words. “It's true I'm insecure and I hate it the most.” She said without Coach having to tell her, she should pick her least favorite trait.

Scott had a hard grip on his cards. He was the new guy and he had been so happy to seemingly make a good impression in the short time. But now that he held cards in his hands, full with negative traits, who others thought fit him.. he felt unsure of himself. “ _Obvious, hesitant, childish, gullible, haughty, awkward_ and _thoughtless._ ” He put the cards in his lap afterwards, not knowing what to do with them. He wasn't sure, if the traits were all true, but one of them was. “Hesitant _._ ” He chose, while thinking of Allison. He should be braver, stop holding back and just go for it instead of waiting. Scott sighed audibly.

Lydia's bottom lip quivered, while she looked down at the words. Lydia Martin didn't have breakdowns, at least not in public. She was strong. So she held back her tears, while reading out loud. “ _Critical, mistaken, superficial, bossy, conceited, irritable_ and _spoiled._ Her voice broke slightly and she hoped no one heard it. She had read quietly, maybe she was lucky. She didn't pick a word, so Coach asked her about it. She couldn't answer. She had a lump in her throat and her heart beat quickly in her chest. For the first time, she could imagine what a panic attack must feel like for Stiles, because she sure was close to one.

“ _Impulsive, blunt, grouchy, disobedient, troublesome, anxious, fidget, fierce._ Damn, that's quite a lot. Well, I don't like disobedient, because I don't think that's true, but I guess I need to pick a trait, that _is_ true, soo.. anx- no, impulsive. I hate, that I'm being impulsive.” Stiles quickly said to save his struggling girlfriend. He knew how much she always worried about things like that and he just couldn't see her helpless like that. Stiles was the only one who smiled after reading his bad traits out loud. He often did that, when he felt insecure, but this time it was genuine. He knew his flaws. Hell, he got confronted with them on a daily basis. Those traits didn't shock him anymore.

Isaac wasn't so keen about reading all the bad sides of him, but he could keep it together. Because just as the good traits, he didn't give a damn what the other students thought of him. It was just much harder to see all flaws laid out in front of him like that. “A _imless, aloof, messy, passive, vulnerable, discouraged, glum, negligent_ and yeah.. I guess I hate _vulnerable_ the most.” His voice sounded nonchalant, as always.

Allison – as much as she had liked to keep calm and collected – didn't feel so well. She wasn't as bad as Lydia, but she still felt really uncomfortable. She took a deep breath, before starting to read. “ _Impatient, resentful, daring_.” She swallowed. “ _Harsh, meticulous, suspicious._ ” Allison picked at the edges of her cards, while deciding on the trait, she absolutely didn't like. “I guess I can be resentful sometimes.. It's.. not a good thing.”

The other students behaved similar to Allison, Kira and Scott. They weren't happy about the bad traits, but they still could read them out loud without panicking. It was only one girl, who had sobbed quietly. She had hid it pretty good though, so only the ones sitting next to her noticed.

“Lydia.” Coach spoke up, his voice was softer than usual. He wasn't good at this and he really didn't want a bunch of crying teenagers. But he was here now, because he had been the only available teacher, so he would go through with it. “You know by now, which one of those traits you don't like?”

Lydia wanted to hide. But that wasn't, who she was. She was Lydia freaking Martin and she wouldn't let herself feel down, because of a few words written on cards. She raised her head and stroked her hair behind her ears. “Yes. I don't like _superficial._ ” She said and paused a moment, before adding. “Because that isn't true anymore. I once was that way, yeah, but I changed and I'm really proud of that, so I'm not gonna let myself called like that. Yes, I do care about my looks, but if I wanted to, I could.. I could wear one of my boyfriend's hoodies and my sleeping pants now without any make up on and I wouldn't care.. Okay, maybe I would care a little. But I'd still feel comfortable and cozy and that would be okay. So..” She took a deep breath after her little outbreak. No one messed with Lydia Martin.

“Alright. Go on.” Coach said and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. He grinned at Lydia, who looked dumbfounded at him.

“What?” She squeaked slightly.

“Take Stiles' key, grab you a hoodie, then go to your room, change into sleeping pants, wash that make-up off and then come back here.” Again Coach put a big grin on his face and Lydia seriously considered punching it away. But she kept her demeanor, so instead she stood up and put her open palm in front of Stiles' face, waiting for him to put his keys into her hand. She wouldn't turn down that challenge. She was way too proud and stubborn for that. Maybe that were bad traits of hers as well.

Stiles pressed his lips firmly together. He couldn't laugh right now, though he really would have liked to. His little girlfriend stood furiously and impatiently in front of him. She really was passionate, Stiles thought. He couldn't help but smirk a little as he put the room keys in her hand. She huffed at him and then went over to the door to leave the room, her heels echoing loudly from the walls.

All that changed the mood in the round though. It didn't feel as depressed and heavy anymore, instead everyone was amused about Coach's challenge.

Lydia did everything Coach had told her to. She firstly went to Scott and Stiles' room and searched for a hoodie to wear. She was happy, when she found the black one with the Arctic Monkeys logo on it. That was her favorite, because it was the largest and she always felt like drowning in soft cotton, whenever she wore it.

After that, she made her way to her own room. She ignored her sleeping shorts and instead took her pink pajama pants. She slipped her heels off and then she undressed. First her tight jeans, then her cute floral top. Exchanging them with the comfy hoodie and the pants. She grabbed a pair of wool socks and slipped them on. If she had to pull off the cozy look, then she'd do it the right way. She pressed her tiny feet into her white converse, the shoes were a little tight around her feet, because of the thick socks she wore, but it was still comfy.

Now to the hardest part. She went into the bathroom and observed her face. She didn't wear that much make-up anymore, not as much as she used to. She didn't really have a problem with removing her make-up. It was more the combination of that _and_ wearing a way too big hoodie and sleeping pants. Since Stiles, she had often worn his hoodies for school, but therefore her hair looked even better than usual or she'd put extra effort in her make-up.

Strangely, it wouldn't matter that much to her, if all the others would wear the same as her now. Then she would fit in. But being the only one to wear messy clothes made her the slightest bit insecure.

Maybe they were right. Maybe she still was superficial. Maybe all what mattered for her were looks.

Lydia sighed at her reflection in the mirror and then started to carefully remove her make-up. When she was done, she looked up again. She still looked good. Her eyes seemed a little smaller, her cheeks weren't that rosy and her lips looked a little pale, but all in all, she still looked the same. Stiles was right. She didn't need any make-up. But she actually liked putting it on.

The last thing, she did, was pulling her hair up into a messy bun. Coach hadn't told her to do that, but it felt right to do so and when she then looked in the mirror again, she even felt comfortable going out like that. Sure, she hoped no one of the other guests in the motel would see her like that, but she could face her class like that, that for sure.

With confident steps, she went out of the door and made her way back to the leisure room. She could hear the others from outside and when she opened the door, everyone fell silent. All gazes turned in her direction as she slowly stepped into the room. Lydia liked being on display – usually. She swallowed nervously, but put a smile on her face. It was fake.

But then her eyes meet Stiles' and her lips curled up into a real smile. Even if the others wouldn't like what they saw, there was still one person in the room, who always would think she was beautiful, no matter what. _I think you look really beautiful, when you cry._ He had said. _Do you know, how beautiful you look, when you're laughing like that? You seriously give me a heart attack. See?_ He had told her and then had put her hand over his heart, which had been racing quickly. _You know, you look so pretty, when you're asleep. I could watch you the whole night. And I really don't care how much of a creep that makes me._ He had confessed with that look on his face, she didn't know how to explain it. He always looked at her like that. Like.. she was his whole world.

She loved him so much. And not just for the way he made her feel, but for who he was. And he did the same.

Lydia walked back in the round and let the room key drop in Stiles' hand. “Thanks, honey.” She said sweetly.

“You're very welcome.” Stiles answered cockily, but the look – _that_ look – was still on his face.

Coach clapped three times in his hands in applause, before standing up and pointing at Lydia. “That's what you can do as soon as High School's over.” The students fell silent as Coach started to speak again. They looked at him and waited for him to continue. “It's like starting a new life. As soon as you go off to college, where no one knows you, you can be whoever you want to be.”

“But you can't change who you are.” Lydia threw in.

“And who are you? Are you the girl with make-up on or is this right here the real you?”

Lydia thought about what Coach said, before answering. “I'm both.”

“Though everyone in here only knows the perfectly looking Lydia.” The teacher reminded her and actually caused Lydia to keep her mouth shut. Because – as much as she hated to admit – he was kinda right. Most of her classmates only knew the popular girl, but that's the way she always wanted it to be. Was it?

“I'm not saying, you should change who you are – except for Greenberg maybe.” Coach said, this time addressing all of his students again. “But if you don't like the labels people put on you, college will be a place, where you can change that.”

The teenagers thought about what Coach had said. Stiles wasn't so sure, if it really was that easy to change labels. Because Lydia was right – you can't change who you are. Stiles would always struggle. He would always be impulsive and fierce. And he didn't think Lydia could just stop trying to be perfect for everyone. It was just who she was.

“I don't think it's that easy to just change the impression you're having on people.” Isaac spoke Stiles' thoughts out loud. “I mean.. you get the labels because of your personality traits, right? So how can we change that, without changing who we are?”

“Is that really true?” Coach asked in return. “Are traits really the reason for labels?”

“Yeah? What else should it be?”

“People are judging by looks, by their first impression. They don't dig any deeper.” Coach explained the obvious and caused everyone to think about his words. It was sad, but true. Everyone did that, even themselves.

“But that would still mean I can't change anything about it.” Isaac argued.

“You just have to let them dig deeper, show them who you really are and not just your surface.” Kira threw quietly in.

“But that's scary.” Lydia stated. And it almost sounded like a confession of her own.

“Of course it is.” Coach laughed humorlessly. “Life is that way. So, if there's anything you should keep from today's lesson: Grab life by it's nuts, keep going and show everyone what you're capable of.”

“So, I basically grab myself by the balls and should still manage to keep going?” Stiles asked amused and caused his classmates to laugh along. Coach though, looked completely serious. He was always convinced of his own wisdom.

“Exactly, Stilinski.” Coach gave him a thumbs up. His voice changed into the heroic one, he always used when he quoted Independence Day. “That is life, son. It's hard, hurting and uncomfortable, but when you rest for a little, take a break for a moment and let your balls go, it's the best feeling ever.”

As much as Stiles – and all the others for that matter – tried to hold back the laughs, Coach was kinda right in his own weird way. Life wasn't always easy, there were moments were you need to remind yourself to not give up, but when the hard times were over and you could stop fighting for a moment, it was actually pretty nice to enjoy the good sides of life.

“And now get your asses out of here.” Grumpy Coach was back again. “We meet by the bus in half an hour to find something edible in this godforsaken town.”

The students stood up and strolled outside one by one. They started chatting and laughing and even though everyone held their cards with the traits in their hands, Coach didn't have much hope there got anything stuck in their hormone driven brains.

Lydia waited until most of the students left to go over to Coach. She didn't say anything other than 'thank you', before leaving again and joining her friends. The teacher looked after the girl with the messy clothes on and couldn't hide his smirk. Maybe not everyone would simply forget about today's experiment.

The friends stayed outside. The weather was nice and it felt good to be on fresh air again after sitting for hours in the small leisure room. Only Lydia went quickly to her room to change her sleeping bottoms into her tight jeans again. She kept the hoodie on, Stiles absolutely didn't mind. He always liked it when his clothes smelled like her. Her scent calmed him down and therefore he didn't care if he smelled like sweet girl's perfume, when he wore his clothes himself after her.

Half an hour later, Coach came out into the lot as well. The receptionist told him about a restaurant just down the road and that's where they were heading. They took the bus, even though it really wasn't that far away.

It was more of a diner, than an actual restaurant, but they weren't picky. They all almost filled all booths in the little diner and the single waitress seemed to be a little overwhelmed. Neither of them could really imagine, that the diner had been ever that filled. Maybe a few truckers every now and then, but nothing more. This town was dead. But Stiles was still happy to have a break from home.

They spent over an hour in the little diner. Just chatting, laughing and even – much against Coach's expectations – talking about the social project they had done before. It was nice hanging out with each other and just enjoy all perks of being on a field trip away from home.

Later on, when they were back in the motel, most of the students met in the leisure room again to hang out a bit more. Allison, Kira, Lydia, Isaac, Scott and Stiles decided to join them, not really knowing what else to do. Coach had made sure there was no alcohol involved, but at some point someone turned music on and it almost felt like a little party.

The friends sat in a corner and talked about nothing special, while Allison and Scott were dancing in the middle of the room along some other classmates. Stiles watched them and ate absently a pack of _Reese's_ he had thieved out of the broken vending machine outside the motel.

That was until Lydia sat herself on his lap to block his view from the dancing couple. Lydia smiled at him knowingly and Stiles only rolled his eyes. He couldn't help, but make sure Allison was okay. He tried to look over his girlfriend's shoulder, but she noticed immediately and always leaned in the direction he tried to look. Lydia really wanted this to work out between Allison and Scott, so the last thing she could do was make sure they were giving some privacy.

Stiles huffed and instead started feeding Lydia his snack to take his mind off his best friend. Lydia only grinned at him, while chewing the sweet. Kira and Isaac there while, where in the middle of another bet. Kira said it would take another month for Allison and Scott to start making out with each other, Isaac said it would happen within the next two weeks. This time it was Lydia, who rolled her eyes, but she was happy as well, that - for once - the bet wasn't about her and Stiles.

At some point, Allison and Scott joined their friends again – all sweaty and exhaust from dancing, but with content smiles on their faces. Though shortly after that, Coach came into the room and told them all to “get their asses back into their own rooms“. It was around 10:30 pm and nobody really had noticed how fast time went by. So the students turned the music off, cleaned their mess up and then walked one after the other back to the rooms.

The friends parted outside the motel, wishing each other good night, before the girls turned left and the boys went right. Scott had the whole way to the room a big grin on his face, which Stiles thought looked absolute ridiculous, but he kept his mouth shut.

Mostly because he knew that look from his own face, whenever he looked too long at Lydia. Which meant, when Scott had the same dreamy look on his face, he was at least somewhat serious about Allison. Stiles didn't know, if that fact calmed him down or freaked him even more out. But all he wanted for his friend was to be happy and if Scott could give her that, it was probably a good thing. Probably.

Stiles didn't want to think about any of that until anything serious would happen between the two, so for now, he just shoved all his thoughts deep into the unknown places of his mind. The boys got ready in the bathroom one after the other and then laid themselves down in bed. Scott fought with the blankets until he finally was comfortable, while Stiles pushed his face in his beloved pillow, needing nothing more than that.

They kept quiet for a while, but then Scott started light conversation. At first, he wanted to asked Stiles about what happened this morning with his dad, but decided it wasn't a good topic to discuss right before sleep.

So instead he asked him about his band. Stiles told him they started playing together, when they were only 13; thinking they were total rockstars, while playing their first own written song. Scott asked, what the first song was about and Stiles answered, it was something about school and annoying teachers, and that they had felt so badass for playing something so 'rebellious'. Scott couldn't help but laugh and Stiles joined right in.

“Tragedy really helps your art, you know?” Stiles said and thought about how much better his songs were now and that just because his mind was totally wrecked. Scott felt a heavy feeling in his chest, but then Stiles made a comment about Kira losing her goldfish, when she was 14 and that's when her emo phase hit and how creative she got during it. Scott laughed again, feeling only the slightest bit guilty for laughing about someone losing their pet fish. He just couldn't help, but imagine a younger Kira crying over her poor goldfish, feeling like that would be the worst thing that could've ever happened to her.

They kept talking a bit more until Stiles could barely keep his eyes open. He hadn't slept much the night before and the whole morning had drained him even more. So it really wasn't his fault. He warned Scott, that he probably slept in on him talking and Scott said, he didn't mind. And not even a minute later, he could hear Stiles breathing steady in his pillow.

Scott checked his phone a last time and saw a message from his mom, asking him if everything was okay and if he had fun. He had totally forgotten to write her, when they arrived. He opened the message and wrote a reply; telling her, that he was sorry and he forgot to write, and that everything was fine and Stiles was feeling better too (at least he thought so). He wrote about the creepy motel, but that it was still kinda cool there, and then he said his goodbyes and greetings to Noah, adding a 'Love Ya' at the end.

Scott laid his phone back on the nightstand, before sliding deeper into his pillow and closing his eyes. He felt like so much had happened this day and his thoughts whirled endlessly around his head, replaying all the events of the day. But at some point, sleep finally took over and he started snoring alongside Stiles.

* * *

 

Stiles woke up from strange noises. A clinking loud sound, like metal hitting on metal. He still felt fuzzy from his sleep, but he manged to kick the blankets off his body to go look for the mysterious noise. It sounded like it was outside the room, so he went over to the window. He pulled the curtains aside and then let his gaze wander over the lot outside.

He saw two people moving around each other. He couldn't see their faces in the dark and couldn't really make out what they were doing. So driven by his curiosity, he went over to the door, unlocked it and went outside. His naked feet met cold ground, but he didn't mind.

Slowly, Stiles walked over to the stairs, the sharp noise getting louder with each step forward. When he was down the stairs, he went further to the two people and now he could see what they were doing. They were fighting. With swords. With real sharp dangerous swords and one of the former strangers was Allison.

Stiles swallowed hard, a cold shiver running down his spine, while his eyes were trained on the scene in front of him. A guy completely in black with a silver creepy looking mask on his face was fighting against his best friend. And Stiles couldn't freaking move. His limbs felt heavy. He heard no other sounds than the two swords hitting permanently against each other.

He kept watching. It felt like he couldn't do anything other. Allison moved quickly and skillfully, but the creepy masked guy managed to throw her off balance suddenly. She stumbled backwards and that seemed to snap Stiles out of his trance. “Allison!” He called for her and reached his hands out to help her even though he was still too far away to actually help her.

Allison turned her head in his direction, when she heard him calling her name. She was only distracted for one second, but that was enough. Enough time for the black wearing man to use his opportunity and swing his sword forward, sliding it right through Allison's stomach.

Stiles couldn't even scream. His throat was dry, blocking any sounds from coming out. Blood ran out of Allison's wound, the sword still stuck to the hilt inside her. He didn't even notice he was crying until his tears slid down the side of his neck. His chest tightened as he stumbled over to his best friend. He whispered her name and she looked up to him with huge brown eyes.

“Why?” She asked him so quietly, he almost didn't hear her. “Why did you do this?”

Stiles let out a loud sobbing noise. At first he didn't understand what she was talking about, but it quickly came to his head. He didn't help her. He just stood there and let it happen. She was his best friend and all he'd done was watching.

“I'm so sorry.” He answered her with another sob following. He wiped his running nose with the back of his hand and when he looked down all he saw was red. His breathing hitched – more than it already did – as he looked at both his hands covered in sticky red blood.

“Why?” She asked again and he looked at her. Her face was pale and her expression showed nothing more than sadness and disappointment. A new wave of tears ran down his face. Allison fell forward, she couldn't hold herself any longer and this time Stiles reacted right away. He caught her in his arms and sunk to his knees. The sword in her stomach was gone, just as the guy, who had used it on her to kill her.

“He will never forgive himself.” Allison started to whisper, while looking up to him from her spot on his lap. Her brown orbs focused on his golden ones. “Stiles will never forgive himself for that. Why did you do this to him? Using him to kill me.” Stiles forehead wrinkled in confusion, while he listened to Allison. Who was she talking to? They were alone. The guy, who'd killed her had disappeared. There was no one but them.

Just as Stiles wanted to asked her who she was talking about or talking to, Allison started to cough. Blood pooled out of her mouth and she made a strange gurgling sound. She was choking on her own blood.

“No, no, no, no, no.” Stiles chanted desperately and shoved her carefully off his lap, so he could lay her on her side. But the blood kept running out of her mouth. _Please, don't!_ , Stiles wanted to say, but another sob escaped his lips instead.

“Stilinski!”

Stiles quickly turned around, when he heard the roar of his name. Coach stood a few feet away from him, holding his hands in the air in an asking manner. “What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?” He asked in his typical annoyed voice.

Coach had been sleeping, when suddenly a loud knocking sound had woken him up. He'd been cursing and swearing the whole way to the door, ready to yell at any homesick teenager, who stood in front of his room, but instead the sight of the receptionist from the motel had greeted him, just so he got to hear, that one of his students was wandering around the motel.

“Coach!” Stiles choked out, the tears still running down his cheeks, as he tried to get back on his feet again. “P-please help her. I- I- can't.. I don't know.. She's bleeding so much.. I-”

“Stilinski, get your ass in bed again!”

“YOU HAVE TO HELP HER!” Stiles screamed at his teacher and turned around to point at Allison behind him only to see that nothing was there. He muttered a confused 'what' to himself and let his pointing finger sink. His arm falling loosely by his side. “She was here, she was right here.”

Coach walked the rest of the distance to Stiles and stopped beside him. “Now that we clarified, that absolutely nothing is here; can we go back to sleep now?” He asked calmly, but an angry tone swung within it.

Stiles looked to Coach, who had suddenly appeared beside him. Now he finally understood. “It's changing.”

Coach let out an annoyed sigh. “Stilinski, I swear to god..”

“The dream's changing. It was a dream. She isn't dead.”

“What-”

“I'm dreaming.” Stiles finally said and nodded to himself. Now it made sense. Allison wasn't dead. He had dreamed the whole scenario and then suddenly Coach came out of nowhere and Allison's body was gone. Because dreams were constantly changing, following no logical line. He's in a dream. His tears stopped floating.

“I have to wake up.” He said to Dream-Coach and ruffled his no longer bloody hands through his hair. His shirt stuck stickily to his body. He had been sweating pretty badly. “Come on, Stiles. Think of something.”

“Are you joking or is this serious?” Coach asked and for the first time, he didn't sound as annoyed as usual. He knew Stiles suffered from pretty much everything. He had experienced lots of panic attacks during classes, but this was something completely different.

“Stiles..” He started cautiously. “I really don't know what to do in situations like that, but you're certainly not asleep.” Coach eyed his student up, trying to figure out what to do. He surely couldn't let Stiles wander around like that.

“I have to wake up.” Stiles said again, this time sounding more determined. He looked around in hope to see anything he could use to trigger himself to wake up. He had done it once before. Screaming himself out of his nightmare. But screaming wouldn't help this time. He just knew it.

Coach carefully laid a hand on Stiles' shoulder to get his attention. “Do you remember your room number?”

“306, but that won't help me, Coach.” Stiles answered distracted and turned away from his teacher again. He had to find a way to wake up, because he really didn't want to experience a scene like the one with Allison again. He still shuddered at the very thought. It had felt so real. The guilt he was still feeling certainly was real. Just as the dry tears sticking on his cheeks.

Coach ignored the rest of Stiles' answer and took a few steps away from the teenager, not too far, so he could still have an eye on him, but far enough to gesture the receptionist, who was standing in front of the entrance door, she should walk over to him.

She had watched the whole scene between the teacher and his student from far away, so she immediately saw the waving gesture of the man. She walked up to him and he told her to go to room 306 and get one of his other students Scott and he then should bring Lydia along. She cooperated grumpily. The only thing motivating her was the fact, she wanted to sit peacefully behind her desk again and she could only do that, if all these people would go back to sleep again.

Stiles shivered to the cold, his bare feet bothering him now more than before, and the sweat cooling on his skin gave him goosebumps. From far away he heard a truck coming down the road. He raised his head to look in the direction and he narrowed his eyes as an idea popped into his head.

Every time Stiles had died in a dream, he'd instantly woken up.

“So maybe all I have to do is die.” Stiles spoke the rest of his thoughts out loud.

Coach saw the two young teenagers coming down the stairs, as Stiles muttered something about dying. He turned around and saw Stiles eyeing the road, while taking a few steps toward it. Coach skin began to prickle as he slowly but surely got an idea of what Stiles was up to. He made his way over to Stiles.

The teen waited a few moments longer until the truck came into his sight. He took a deep breath and when he heard Coach's steps coming up behind him, he decided to run.

“Stilinski!” He heard Coach yell.

“Stiles!” Lydia's voice followed.

Of course, his mind would bring up Lydia in the dream as soon as he tried to hurt himself. Lydia was always saving him. But not this time. Stiles kept running. He couldn't take one second longer of this fucking dream. He had to wake up. Even if he had to kill himself in his own dream for that to happen.

The shining white lights of the truck filled the dark place and blended Stiles. Everything felt like in slow motion. He felt every single one of his muscles in his legs, his heart pumped in a fast rhythm in his chest. It was strange how alive he felt, when he was about to die. Even if it was just in a dream.

The loud honking noise of the truck filled his ears, just as he got his first step on the road. _That's it._ Stiles thought. _This is gonna wake me up._

But instead of an harsh impact with a car, he felt two strong arms sling around his middle, pulling him right on time off the road. “No!” He screamed. He started to kick and struggle against the hold, but Coach held him in a tight grip, while the truck - his only solution to get out of the dream - drove past them and further away.

“You can't keep me here, please!” Stiles voice sounded more desperate again. Images of Allison's lifeless body coming into his mind. Blood, pale and cold skin, Allison's sad eyes as she asked him why he had killed her. “No!“ He roared again and tried to wiggle his way out of the grasp.

“God dammit, Stiles, calm down.” Coach swore under his breath. Lydia and Scott came to his side, for what the teacher was grateful for. At least Lydia knew how to handle Stiles at moments like this, well Coach hoped so anyway.

Stiles shook his head, his breathing quickened, he couldn't get any words out. His eyes wandered unfocused around, trying desperately to find a way out of this situation. He dragged breath after breath into his lungs, but it felt like there was still not enough air.

Again he struggled to get out of Coach's arms, but this time because he needed space. He couldn't breath, he felt cornered, he wanted to get away.

“Coach, let him go.” Lydia said to her teacher, a stressful tone swinging in her voice. “He's having a panic attack.”

Coach did as Lydia said, opening his arms bit by bit until Stiles surged forward to get away. But he couldn't hold himself up, he fell to his knees, bracing his fall with his hands, while he still tried to drag air into his lungs.

Lydia's feet came to his blurry view, followed by her face, after her hands rested themselves gently on his cheeks to raise his head. “You see me?” She asked softly and Stiles nodded, though his eyes still seemed unfocused.

“Breath with me, okay?”

Stiles shook his head, causing her hands to slip off his face. A choking noise came out of his throat, a mix of a sob and the attempt to force air into his lungs, as fresh tears started to drop down his cheeks. “She.. Allison.. I can't.” Stiles managed to say in between his quick breathing. “Need to wake up.”

Lydia's worried expression deepened as she crouched further down in front of him. She laid a resting hand on his shoulder and searched for his eyes again. “Baby, you're awake. I know it doesn't feel like that, but you are.”

Coach and Scott watched the two of them from a few feet away, both didn't know what to do with themselves and while Scott's eyes were trained on Lydia to watch what she was doing in moments like that, Coach held his gaze on Stiles, just to make sure if he tried to run away again, he could interfere faster. Because that, what had just happened, had been a freaking close call, one that the teacher didn't want to experience again.

Stiles tried his best to listen to Lydia's words, but he couldn't believe them. He didn't remember waking up and if he really _was_ awake right now, how much of what had happened was real and what was a dream? He shook his head again, the confusion making his breathing worse. There was no other way. He was sleeping, he was dreaming.

"Stiles, concentrate on my voice." Lydia spoke slowly and clearly, trying her best to sound calm and professional, even though she was freaking out on the inside. It hadn't been that bad in a really long time. Nightmares were one thing, but a complete loss of reality was hard to deal with. "Just look at me and breath with me."

Stiles pressed his eyes tightly together. His vision was blurry, he couldn't focus on anything. He felt dizzy. Lydia took one of his hands in hers, her touch so soft and innocent and cautious, he let it happen. She pressed his palm against her chest, her heartbeat meeting his hand. It was faster than usual, but it managed to calm him down a bit anyway.

"Breath with me." She whispered again and then he felt her chest raising under his palm, before it fell again. Stiles tried to concentrate on that, tried to match her breaths. It took him a while, but at some point his quick breaths turned into slow and steady ones. Her heartbeat calming down underneath his palm as well.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, his vision clearer again. Her eyes were so green, even in the dark surrounding them, he could clearly see the color.

"Stiles?" Lydia asked, wanting to know if he really was back again. He nodded. She let out a relieved sigh. Slowly, she changed her position, so she could sit more comfortable in front of him. He moved with her, so easily she wondered how he could have been so out of control just moments ago.

Lydia took his hand off her chest and laid it in her lap instead. His palm resting right under the hem of her sleeping shorts, meeting her naked thigh, skin on skin. She knew physical touch helped him stay calm. "Look." She said and stretched her arm out in front of her, showing him the watch she was always wearing on her wrist, the watch he got her for her 16th birthday. "What hour is it?" She asked gently.

Stiles looked down, the watch on clear sight. "Quarter past three." He said. _You can't read the clock, if you're dreaming. There's no feeling of time in dreams._

"Yeah, that's right." She confirmed with a reassuring smile on her lips. "And uhm.." She started, while looking around, searching for something written. "There!" She said and pointed to the Motel sign. Stiles followed her view. "Can you read that?"

"Motel California. Check in on all hours." He read out loud. _You can't read in dreams. The mental process of reading requires something physical like a book, while in a dream everything gets projected and a mind can't form a clear picture of letters._

"Yeah." Lydia breathed and then wrapped her hands around each of his wrists to hold them up in front of his eyes. Both of them looking at his pale and bony hands. "And now count your fingers."

Stiles took a deep breath. "One."

 _You have extra fingers in dreams._ "Two."

 _You can barely count your fingers in dreams, because the amount of them constantly changes or your vision turns fuzzy._ "Three."

 _Your fingers may be deformed or show other abnormalities._ "Four."

 _Your skin color may change, too._ "Five."

Stiles counted all five fingers on his left hand and he already knew by now he was awake. There was no way he could have counted all the fingers so calmly and clearly, if he would have been sleeping. Nonetheless he counted the fingers on his right hand as well. There were five, too.

He was awake.

Lydia let go of Stiles' arms, so he could let them sink again. His hands falling into his lap, his gaze lowered. For a moment nobody said anything, silence surrounding them.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Lydia asked softly and quietly. She didn't want to upset him again, but it was important for her to know what was going on.

Stiles swallowed hard, his breathing hitched slightly, so he turned his gaze to Lydia's chest again for a few seconds, just to make sure he would stay calm. He then grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up to his face, roughly wiping away his tears. He hated that. He hated crying.

"I woke up-" Stiles stopped himself, shaking his head. "I _thought_ I woke up. There were loud clinking sounds and I followed them." He raised one hand to his face and rubbed his palm over it once. "Allison was there and.. and someone, I don't know, some creepy guy. They were fighting and.." He stopped again and started to pick on his lips. Lydia stopped him gently, so he let his hands drop back again, his fingers now rubbing over the soft fabric of his sleeping pants. "He killed her. I couldn't do anything. I just watched and let it happen. I.. he killed her with that sword right through her stomach. And, and.. fuck!"

Lydia watched Stiles slumping forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his face was buried in his hands. In moments like that, she couldn't help. She could calm him down from a panic attack, she could reassure him after a nightmare. But she couldn't stop the guilt rising within him, couldn't stop him from blaming himself for things that only happened in his dreams. Silently, she stroked her fingers through his hair, trying her best to at least give him some comfort.

“She asked me why I did this.” Stiles whispered, making it hard for Coach and Scott to hear him. They came a few steps closer, but still kept a little distance, so he wouldn't feel cornered again. “She asked me why I let myself do this, like there was someone other in my head, she was talking to. And then she started choking on her blood. I.. I had her blood on my hands, Lydia. It- it felt so _real._ ”

Stiles let his hands sink to touch Lydia's bare knee. He brushed his fingertips over her silky skin, while keeping his gaze low. That was the worst thing. That even in his dream, it felt like there was someone else in his head, who made him feel bad. In real life it was the constant anxiety and paranoia, the other part of him couldn't help but feel that way, even though he himself knew all that was unreasonable. And in his dreams, his other self now started killing his friends. Stiles sighed loudly, the last thing he needed right now, was to add schizophrenia to his mental-issues-list.

“You're awake now.” Lydia told him softly and laid a hand over his. “You don't have to see that anymore.”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded slowly in agreement, even though he knew it wasn't true. He was awake, but he still saw Allison's lifeless eyes staring at him, whenever he closed his own.

“What happened after that?” Lydia asked after a few moments of silence.

Stiles raised his head and looked into Lydia's eyes for the first time since he started talking. Green meeting gold and for a second, he let himself feel safe. “Coach called my name.” He said and took a side glance at Coach. He couldn't believe all that happened in front of his teacher. He hated it, when other people witnessed his episodes.

“I guess, that's when I woke up.” The teenager continued. “Except I didn't notice waking up, because I thought I already was awake. But then Allison's body was gone and that's when I thought I had been dreaming.. and still was.”

Neither of them said anything after that. No one knew what to say and actually there wasn't much to say either. Stiles mind had tricked him so badly, he didn't even knew what was real anymore. Lydia was overly worried. She knew it had been that bad back then, when his mother died, but nothing like that had happened in quite a while. It made her feel uneasy, even though she was aware of the fact, that mental issues like that could just change and get worse without any real reason.

Scott let out a loud breath through his nose, the first real sound he made since running with Lydia toward Stiles. He couldn't quite process what had happened. He couldn't imagine ever being so confused about reality, that the only solution left would be killing himself. Scott shivered at the very thought of Stiles succeeding with his plan. Noah wouldn't have survived this.

“Stiles?” Coach asked uncertain, while walking the rest of the distance to his side. Stiles looked at him uncomfortably. “I have to call your dad.”

“No, please don't!” Stiles quickly said and struggled to get up. Lydia followed him instantly and kept a hand on his arm, when he lost balance for a second. “Please, don't.. don't call him, okay?”

Coach watched Stiles closely. For a moment, he thought he had triggered another panic attack. But the teenager remained calm except for his pleading. But Coach couldn't give in on that one. If it would have been a simple attack, he maybe had kept it for himself, but this was too huge.

“I'm sorry, Stilinski. You were sleepwalking, lost all sense of reality and then you.. dammit, you tried to kill yourself!” Coach was the first one to speak it out loud. Sure, Stiles had thought he was still sleeping, but that didn't change the fact that he actually _wasn't_. If he had started running just one second earlier, it would have been too late. Coach had caught him right on time. He had a soft spot for his students and to see one of them so close to kill themselves.. he probably wouldn't ever get the image out of his head.

“I can't ignore that.” Coach finally said. “There's no way I won't call him.”

“Double negative.” Stiles tried to joke, but no one really was in the mood of laughing. He started nibbling on his bottom lip. He didn't want his dad to know. He already worried too much about him and it wasn't like he could really help or cure him. It would just be another package for his dad to carry.

A gust of wind whirled around them and Stiles started to shiver. His feet were cold and started to hurt on the hard concrete. His sweat soaked clothes didn't really hold him warm anymore. He rubbed his hands over the goosebumps of his arms to warm up a little. The others noticed his discomfort and decided to walk back to the motel again.

“Could you at least.. not sent me home?” Stiles asked on their way back. He didn't want to be home now. That would make everything worse.

Coach thought about it, not really knowing the right answer. But in the end, it wouldn't be his decision anyway. “You have to talk to your dad about that.”

Stiles only nodded, while suppressing his sigh.

They made their way over to the building, getting eyed up by the annoyed receptionist, but they all ignored her, instead walking up the stairs and to Scott's and Stiles' room. The teens sat down on the edge of the beds. Scott on his own and Lydia and Stiles' on the other bed. Coach stood in front of them.

Stiles took his phone, unlocked it and dialed his dad's number, before handing the phone to Coach. He knew he could've just talked to his dad himself, but he had a feeling Coach had a few things to say as well and he also didn't actually know _what_ to tell him. A quick ' _Hey dad, I tried to kill myself, because I thought I was dreaming and could wake up that way'_ wouldn't do any good.

The phone rung only a few times, before the Sheriff picked up. If Stiles' remembered correctly, he had a night shift.

“Stiles?” He answered the phone, his voice already sounding worried. Because why else should his son call him in the middle of the night, if not something had happened?

“Coach Finnstock here.”

“What happened? Is he okay?” Coach heard rustling in the background and a door getting shut.

“Don't worry, Sheriff, he's okay so far. But there's still something we need to talk about.”

The Sheriff sighed relieved, but couldn't relax yet. There still was a reason why the teacher had called him that late.

“Okay, so..” Coach didn't really knew where to start. “Stiles had some sleeping issues this night.”

Noah sighed, this time out of worry. “Again? Did he have nightmares?”

“Yeah, seemingly, but there's more to that.”

When the teacher didn't say anything else, the Sheriff got impatient, his worry for his son rising with every passing second. “I'm listening.”

“Oh, yeah.. so, he was sleepwalking. He didn't get far, but it seemed..” Coach paused, thinking of a better way to say it, but he didn't find one. “pretty bad.” He ended.

He heard the Sheriff breathing harshly into the phone. He didn't want to upset the worrying father, but he couldn't hold something like that from him. “Unfortunately, that's not it.”

“What else?” Noah asked gruffly. He had to remind himself, that Coach assured him Stiles was okay at the moment. Whatever had happened was over, his son was fine.

Coach took a deep breath. “As I said, he was sleepwalking, but during that he woke up, but as it seemed he didn't notice that. I tried to talk to him, but he kept saying he needed to wake up, even though he already was awake.”

The Sheriff nodded, though he knew Coach couldn't see that. All of a sudden, he sounded really tired. “We went through this a few years ago. He woke up screaming and crying, but couldn't remember actually waking up. Now he still suffers from nightmares and sleepwalks every now and then, but I thought we were past the other stuff at least.” He sighed exhaust. There was nothing he wished more for, than Stiles finally getting better again. But with every step forward, three backwards seemed to follow.

“Did he ever, you know, try anything to get out of his dream, when he thought he wasn't awake yet?” Coach eyed Stiles in front of him, while asking the question. He saw the teenager swallow thickly. This would be the hardest part now.

“Not exactly. I always tried to convince him somehow, that he already was awake. That's when he and his therapist worked this plan out. Whenever he didn't know, if he was awake or asleep, he should take a book to hand and read it or look for a clock, because apparently you can't read any of these in dreams.”

Coach nodded along to the Sheriff's words, that explained why Lydia had asked him to do all this. “He also said“ the teacher started. “that he couldn't die in a dream without waking up right after that.”

“Okay.” Was all Noah had for an answer, because he didn't know what Coach was up to.

“And he was so convinced he was dreaming and so desperate to get out of there, that he wanted to make sure himself he would wake up.” Coach hoped he didn't need to say anything else. To see Stiles trying to get himself ran over by a car was hard, but telling his father about that, was worse.

“What are you trying to say?” The father asked, panic swinging in his voice.

“I try to say, that Stiles wanted to jump in front of a truck, so he would die in his dream and wake up.”

Coach didn't hear anything else than a shocked 'oh my god' and heavy breathing. A sobbing noise was following, then Noah cleared his throat. “He is okay, though? You said he is fine. Is he-”

“He's fine. I caught him, before anything happened.” Coach assured. It wasn't often, that Coach showed his soft side, that he let his jokes and his weirdness aside, but even he knew to behave himself in moments like this.

“Do you want to talk to him?”

“Yes, yes, please.”

Coach handed Stiles his phone back silently. The teenager looked down on the display, the word 'Dad' and the call time showing. He didn't know what to say. He felt so bad. He raised the phone to his ear. “Hey, dad.” He choked out.

“Stiles.” Noah breathed out, happy to hear his son's voice. “Are you okay? Are you fine?”

“Yeah, I am. Please, don't worry.

“Don't worry.” Noah scoffed and shook his head at his son's words. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm fine.” Stiles promised quietly. He felt so guilty. His dad was always worried about him and then something like that happened, when Stiles wasn't even at home.

They were silent for a moment. Stiles just waited for his dad to say something and the Sheriff needed a moment to process what he had heard. Losing his wife had been really hard on him, but he knew if he ever lost his son, it would be so much worse.

“You only did that, because you thought you were still dreaming right? You didn't actually want to.. _die_.”

“Oh my god, dad. Yes!.. I mean, no! I mean.. I wouldn't do that you. Never.” Stiles said and felt really vulnerable. There were times, where he had been worse than now. And yeah, there were times, where he had actually thought about just ending it. But life had so much more to offer and he knew his dad needed him just as much as Stiles needed him.

“You want me to come get you? I'm sure Parrish can mange the night shift for once alone.”

Stiles bit his bottom lip. He really didn't want to go home now. It wasn't like he didn't want to see his dad, it was just nice to get away from home once in a while. And even if he would want to go home, it was almost 4 am. He wouldn't let his dad drive two hours long in the middle of the night - or more like early morning - just because he had an episode.

“I actually.. would really like to stay here.” Stiles admitted quietly and when his dad didn't answer right away, he added: “If that's okay.”

He heard his dad exhale. Stiles could almost see his dad sitting in his office at his desk, his hand probably scratching his head in thought with a look of slight worry on his face.

“Alright.” The Sheriff finally managed to say. “But you're gonna call me, I don't care what time, but you gonna call me once a day. And if you decide otherwise and wanna come home, I come get you, okay? And-”

“Dad, I promise, I stay safe and I'm gonna call you every day.”

“Don't make fun of me now, I'm serious, Stiles.”

Stiles looked down and lowered his voice again. “I'm not joking. I just don't want you to worry.”

Noah suppressed a sigh. A kid would never know, how much a parent would worry about them until they had kids themselves. “Make sure Lydia stays with you, okay?” The father said instead of answering Stiles' words.

“Uhm.. I think you have to talk to Coach about that one. But she's with me now. Next to me.”

The Sheriff asked Stiles to give him back to the teacher again, so he could talk to him shortly. He told Coach, it would be okay for him to let Lydia stay with Stiles for the nights, and if anything other happened, he should call him immediately and he would come get his son. Coach agreed to everything, before giving Stiles the phone back, so he could properly say goodbye.

After another few minutes of talking to his dad, he hung finally up and let the phone drop back on his bed. Now that everything was okay again, the mood quickly changed and turned awkward, causing Coach to clear his throat and announcing he would leave now. Stiles stopped him, not really knowing how to start, but then deciding to just let it out.

“Thanks. For.. you know, saving me I guess. Who would've thought you could still run like that.” Stiles cracked a smile and tried to hide his insecurity behind his joke. Coach raised a finger at him and pointed in silent warning.

But instead of commenting anything, he just said: “Stop making this awkward, Stilinski.” And then he went out of the door.

The teens sat silently on the bed for a while. The night had been really heavy and neither of them really knew how to go from there. But Stiles decided to shove the events of the night far back and ignore the strange mood in the room. It wasn't like anything had happened, right? He didn't actually wanted to kill himself, it was just.. The worst timing ever. Now that he was awake, he actually felt better, though he really would have liked to see Allison. But he had already held Lydia, Coach and Scott awake. He didn't want to disturb Allison in her sleep as well, just because of a stupid nightmare.

With a sigh he stood up and walked into the bathroom, where he washed his face, getting rid of sweat and dried tears. He quickly cleaned his feet in the bathtub as well, they were all dirty from running around bare. When he was done he walked back into the room. Scott was underneath the covers again, having his eyes closed, but Stiles could see he wasn't asleep yet. Lydia sat under the blanket as well, but she was still sitting up with her back against the headboard.

Stiles quickly changed into a new shirt, before joining his girlfriend in bed. As soon as he was settled, Lydia let herself sink into a lying position, too. They were facing each other and though Stiles felt better, Lydia didn't look like she was feeling fine.

“Are you okay?” He asked her in a whisper. They didn't touch, but he could feel her breath on his arm he had stuck beneath his head.

Lydia held his gaze, watching for _something_. She didn't find it. “No, I don't think so.” She whispered back.

Stiles kept looking at her and waited for her to continue. Beside his dad, Lydia was everything for him. He couldn't bare when she was sad or sick or simply didn't feel that well. So he would always try to make her feel better, whenever he could.

“Promise me something.”

“Okay.” Stiles agreed, even though he didn't know what to expect.

“Never do that again.”

Non of them needed to say the exact words, both knew what she was talking about. Stiles stayed silent for a while. He didn't run in front of a car, because he was tired of life. It had been the exact opposite. He'd done it, so he would come back again, find a way out of his dreamworld. The only mistake – and Stiles admitted, that was a huge one – was that he hadn't known, he already had been awake. Which meant, if he had succeed, he would be dead now.

Stiles raised one hand, intending to stroke Lydia's hair behind her ear, but she leaned out of his reach. She wanted to hear him say it, that he promised, he would stay with her no matter how hopeless he felt. Lydia always enjoyed his touch way to much, she couldn't allow that to happen until she heard him say it.

He did his best to hide his hurt, when she duck away from him. But he knew, why she did it. So he would give her what she wanted. “I never would do it in real life, okay?”

“But you did.” She insisted.

“Yeah, but I wasn't aware of that. Believe me, I would never chose to leave you all behind.”

“Then promise me. Promise me, that even if you think you're dreaming, you look for something else. There are other ways to wake up out of a dream, try something different, but never again, try to kill yourself. Because if you're wrong, and you were today, then it's over and you never gonna wake up again.” Lydia's soft voice turned into a harsh whisper and she couldn't stop the tear, that tried to escape out of her eye. No one made her feel as good as Stiles did. He taught her to enjoy the simple things in life, even in his own broken state. She couldn't lose him.

Stiles still kept his eyes locked with hers, even when it pained him to see that single little tear rolling down her cheek. He never wanted to hurt her. “I promise you, Lydia. I'm gonna look for a different way for you.”

He still didn't think it was that much of a big deal, he was way more concerned about his bloody nightmare and the fact, that he couldn't decide between dream and reality. But if he could make her feel better by simply promising her things, he would do it.

Lydia nodded slowly after that and Stiles leaned a bit more forward. “Can I touch you now?” She answered with a quiet 'yeah'. Stiles wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and pressed her tight against his chest. She let out a happy sigh and that's when he finally relaxed as well.

They laid beside each other for a while, stroking each others skin innocently, just to keep the latest events out of their heads. Stiles couldn't think of a better way to calm down. At some point, they turned off the small light and Lydia turned around, molding perfectly into his body. Stiles hugged his arms around her, slipping his hand underneath her shirt and cupping her breast into his hand.

He liked touching. It didn't matter, if it was sexual or innocent, as long as he could feel her bare skin on his own. But sometimes that wasn't enough. Sometimes, he needed a little bit more. Because as nice as it felt to hold somebody to your chest, sometimes it felt nicer getting hold.

So Stiles buried his face into Lydia's hair, as he quietly asked. “Can we switch?”

Lydia smiled into the darkness, before turning around. She softly pushed against her boyfriend's arm and he followed her slowly and turned on his other side as well. Lydia pressed her chest to his back and curled around his bigger body. Her arm slipped under his and he took her hand in his own, intertwining their finger and pressing their hands to his chest.

There was no way, Stiles would be able to sleep, but he had to admit; this felt really nice.

 _It's okay to be the little spoon once in a while_ , Stiles thought and pressed a kiss to Lydia's palm.

All the while trying his best to keep his eyes open to not let any more demons inside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have much to say, please read it, it's IMPORTANT:  
> !1. I know it takes me really long to update, but I don't wanna rush myself and seriously the chapters are getting longer and longer. Some seem to think a chapter so long like this one is written in no time, and yeah, maybe there are people, who can do that – but not me.  
> The whole chapter got 27 pages, btw, and therefore his the longest chapter I ever wrote. Chapter 1 had around 10 innocent pages, so it's really getting longer every time.  
> !2. SPECIAL THANKS to Isabella and Mae again for taking time and writing long and lovely comments <3 Also a quick thanks to I_Slay, who suggested a school field trip like in the show :)  
> And Mae – I hope I could make you lucky with Stiles in this chapter :p  
> 3\. A little fun fact: Scott and Stiles' room number (306) is actually the number of the episode Motel California 3x06.  
> There were also a few other references right from the show, I'm sure you noticed.  
> !4. As always - please let me know, if you have any questions and what you think of the chapter or if you have any wishes for future ones :) And (this may seem a little random, but) I really would like to know, if you reading stories on your phone or on your computer. Because I'm always read them on the phone and yeah.. :D  
> 5\. I don't own any lyrics used in this chapter.


	7. Afraid Of Losing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to 41 pages of nothing (yes, 41 fucking pages!) with lots of talking, fighting and swearing.  
> Songs, I listened to, while writing certain scenes:  
> \- The beginning of the chapter / The Score – Miracle (this song fits Stiles so well, I'd actually like to make it one of Stiles' own songs, but I guess I shouldn't start mixing other songs to the ones from 21Pilots)  
> \- Isaac, Scott & Stiles hanging out together / Twenty One Pilots – Polarize (that's the song Stiles comes up with in the scene as well)  
> \- Sex scene (wiggling eyebrows) / Halsey – Trouble  
> I didn't read anything proof, because I'm lazy af and just wanna update already. That's also the reason why the beginning is kinda.. shitty(?). I had to rewrite it, but I couldn't wait to update and hurried and now I'm not really happy with the start of the chapter, but who caaaares.  
> Enjoy!

Home sucks pretty badly, when you just tried to kill yourself – unintentionally.

That had been almost a week ago and Stiles still felt everyone's eyes on him.

As always, everyone knew. Scott as the new guy was forgotten, back was the kid, who'd lost his mother and had turned crazy. Stiles got tired of it.

Most of his class mates knew the real story, so they didn't make a huge deal out of it. But especially the younger ones in other classes made crazy stories up and couldn't stop gawking at him. The teachers always kept an eye on him – making it much harder to sneak around the building to smoke with Isaac, but Lydia didn't like it anyway, so maybe it was better that way.

It was annoying, but didn't really bug Stiles that much. He had always drawn the most attention to himself. Back then it had been his ADHD, now it was whatever he suffered mentally from.

It were his friends and family, who got on his nerves the most. Lydia seemed as if she still wasn't quite over the whole incident. Whenever they were together, she looked at him with a sadness in her eyes only he could see. It killed him. He couldn't look at her, when she was like that.

Allison wasn't any easier either. She had been furious, when Lydia had told her what had happened. She had stood on his porch immediately and called him out. And now she was watching him with a stern expression, as if she wanted to prevent him from jumping in front of another car by only her look. Stiles thought that all was totally ridiculous, because he hadn't _really_ tried to kill himself. His friends were over dramatic.

Kira, Isaac and Scott weren't that hard on him. They seemed to understand, that nothing had been intentional. So they didn't really address the topic anymore, which Stiles was grateful for. At least some of his friends could still think clearly and didn't judge him.

His dad was similar to Lydia. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Stiles could see it in the way he forced a smile on his face, whenever he talked to him or the way he always gingerly put his hand on his arm or shoulder, as if he wanted to pull him into a hug, but thought better of it.

Stiles knew, they worried about him, but that didn't change, he felt like a little kid getting scolded. He knew, what happened had been a pretty close call. He knew, what happened should never happen again. And he knew, he needed to find a way to prevent these things from happening again. But that was no reason for him to go all crazy like Lydia or his dad.

What he didn't know though, was that his dad had left work this one night to drive home after the call from Coach. He didn't know, that his dad had slung his arms around Melissa and couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He didn't know, that Melissa held him the whole night and made promises, she knew she couldn't keep.

Stiles also didn't know, that Allison had wrapped herself around Lydia, as soon as she learned about what had happened. He didn't know, that both girls reassured themselves, that what he did wasn't on purpose. He didn't know, that Allison had slept that night in Isaac's bed, too afraid to wake up alone and find text messages that would say Stiles had tried something again.

So maybe he was annoyed by everyone's behavior, but he wasn't the only one involved in this and that's what he seemingly didn't think about. That – for once – he wasn't the one worrying over everyone; that people actually cared about him too and that others could feel the same panic as he always did, whenever he worried over someone. Stiles simply didn't know.

“Boys, you're ready?” Melissa called from the bottom of the stairs. A loud rumble answered her, the sound of a door opening and shutting again, and then two pair of footsteps getting closer to the stairs.

Scott was the first one to come down, followed by Stiles, who's gaze was turned down on his phone, while flopping down the stairs step by step. They were both in their swimming shorts and a simple shirts, Stiles' sunglasses sitting on his nose, while Scott wore his still on his head.

Natalie, Lydia's mom, had invited them over for a little pool party. The weather was nice and she wanted to use the opportunity to finally get to know Melissa. She was also sure, that everyone could use a distraction after all the past events. So she had made a quick call the day before and the Stilinski – McCall family had agreed immediately.

Melissa balanced the salad she had made in one hand, while walking over to the front door, before opening it with her free one. The boys walked out of the house and Melissa followed. Noah was already waiting in the car. He had gotten a phone call and had excused himself outside. As soon as he saw his family coming, he ended the call.

When everyone was seated – Scott and Stiles in the back, Melissa next to Noah with the salad in her lap – the Sheriff smiled brightly at his beautiful partner, before pulling out of the driveway.

It was the first invitation they had gotten as a family. And Noah couldn't hold his excitement, when he thought of future events to come. Whenever he had gotten invited somewhere after his wife's death, he always felt like it was out of pity. The poor single father, who was all alone and had to deal with a troubling kid. He had never felt that way though. Of course he'd been in deep grieve and raising a kid on your own was hard as well, but he didn't care how much trouble Stiles brought, as long as he had his son by his side. That was something he would never want to get pitied for.

Noah's happiness was contagious. Melissa smiled the whole way to the Martin's. She was excited as well, especially to finally meet Lydia's mom. She couldn't wait to get to know the person, who raised Lydia to such a strong young woman.

After parking the car in front of the Martin house, all four of them got out of the car. Stiles shoved his phone back into the pockets of his swim trunks and put the sunglasses on his head like Scott. Natalie Martin wasn't keen of him, that was no secret, so he always tried to show his best sides in her presence, tried to not give her any more reasons to mistrust him.

They rang the bell and Stiles pressed his lips together to hold his grin back. He dated Lydia for over two years now and he was sure he used her window more often than the front door to get in the house. Well at least in the beginning of their relationship.

Natalie had always tried her best to keep Stiles from sleeping over. That had been until Coach had visited her in her office at school one day and told her awkwardly he just caught her daughter and the boyfriend of hers in the locker room doing things he wished he never had seen. That's when she knew, she had failed on keeping distance between those two and – after a long fight with Lydia - had just accepted the fact, that her daughter build a serious relationship with a boy, who only meant trouble. The only thing keeping her at bay was knowing Stiles was in fact a good guy – and the Sheriff's son.

The door opened, revealing Natalie Martin in a floral printed dress. Her brownish hair falling flawlessly over her shoulders, while her blue eyes glinted with the same excitement as Melissa's. A smile formed on her lips as soon as she saw the family.

“Well hello, come on in.” She greeted them friendly and made a gesture with her hand inside her house. They went inside and Melissa couldn't help but nod impressed at what she saw.

“Your house is beautiful.” She spoke her thoughts out loud. “Oh, and I'm Melissa.” She added with a smile and politely reached her hand out. Natalie took it in a soft grip to shake it.

“Thanks, Melissa. I'm Natalie. It's so nice to finally meet you.”

After the two mothers shook their hands, Scott introduced himself as well. Just as his mother, he was quite impressed as well. The house was huge and looked really expansive, yet it still had a homey touch. He thought it fit the Martins pretty well.

Noah greeted Natalie with a one sided hug, while Stiles stuck to hand shaking and a polite 'Hey, Ms. Martin'. She could see right through his charming smile, but she greeted him just as friendly.

“The others are already here. I asked Ken to come as well, but he said they were visiting family outside town.” Natalie said and referred to Kira's family as they went down the corridor and through a glass door to get to the back of the house.

Like she said, the Argents were already in the back yard. Allison and Lydia were lying in the sun side by side only in their bikinis and Isaac sat shirtless besides his dad at the table. Scott wished Kira was there as well, he liked her quirky and positive personality. Though he spent his most time with Allison, he was always happy when he got the chance to talk to Kira.

“Here, you can put the salad on the table there.” Natalie said to Melissa. “And thanks for making it.” She smiled gratefully. Melissa put the salad on the table and observed the other food. She loved little garden parties like that, even though she hadn't attend any since Scott was born.

The two girls came from their spot in the sun, as soon as they heard the others arrive. They all greeted each other; they shook hands and hugged, and for a moment it really felt like there was no heaviness surrounding them.

They quickly separated in two groups; the parents sitting at the table and the teenagers were around the pool. Scott and Stiles had done it like Isaac and scattered their shirts and phones on the ground, before hopping into the pool with Allison and Lydia sitting at the edge. Of course, it didn't take long for the boys to start wrestling and trying to push each others heads into the water.

The parents ignored the grunting, swearing and splashing of water, while enjoying their time together. With all the work all of them had to do, it wasn't always easy to meet up. But therefore it was even better, whenever they got the chance to finally catch up on everything again.

"So.." Natalie started and turned her gaze on Melissa. "How's Beacon Hills treating you so far?" She asked with genuine interest.

Melissa sighed and smiled, before leaning back into the chair. "Oh well you know, just a complete new town, getting to know people, a stepson that hates me. The usual."

"He doesn't hate you, Mel." Noah said in a reassuring voice. It wasn't easy with Stiles, but Noah was sure, the last thing that his son felt towards Melissa was hate.

"I was just joking." Melissa said truthfully, a small hint of doubt in the back of her head though. "I like living here so far. I think it's the best place to start a new life." She answered Natalie properly. “And I'm actually really happy to meet you.”

“Oh dear, believe me” Natalie started with a mysterious little smirk on her lips. “ _I_ am happy to finally meet you. It's not every day, that our Sheriff here comes over with a pretty woman in tow.” She elbowed Noah teasingly and he even blushed at her words.

Melissa couldn't hide the little laugh that escaped her. She felt welcomed and comfortable, even though, she had only met those people. But didn't make her feel unwanted or threated her like she was only replacement for Claudia. That had been her biggest fear, but no, they were all nothing but nice to her.

The three families spent the afternoon together like that. Melissa, Natalie, Chris and Noah were talking, mostly about their kids and jobs, nothing too personal yet, while the teenagers were either swimming in the pool or sunbathed in the grass (or more like, the girls, who tried to sunbath, but got interrupted by the guys every time; making them wet with cold water or forcing them to join them in the pool).

It was a fun day, the sun was shining warmly over them, keeping everyone's mood bright. That was until the adults called their kids for food and everyone was sitting around the huge table.

At first everything seemed normal. They were still chatting together and enjoyed each others company, while eating delicious food . But somewhat during their meal, Stiles finally found out, what had made him feel uneasy the whole time. It was Natalie's gaze on him. She kept looking at him, as if she waited for something to happen and Stiles knew exactly why she did that.

She had always been suspicious of him, but Stiles was sure this had everything to do with his almost-jumping-in-front-of-a-truck stunt. Lydia behaved strange ever since and of course, her mother blamed Stiles for it.

Stiles scratched his throat, trying to pull at the neckline of his shirt, just to remember, that he hadn't pulled his shirt back on. He cleared his throat instead, trying to calm his breathing down, which little by little seemed to increase. He felt hella uncomfortable over Natalie's observing eyes.

He tried to keep it together for the rest of their dinner. His leg bouncing underneath the table, where no one really seemed to notice. Except for Lydia maybe, she always noticed things like that.

At some point though, he couldn't take it anymore. Stiles excused himself from the table, saying he needed to use the bathroom. He sent one polite smile to Ms. Martin, before standing up and walking through the back door into the house. He actually headed to the bathroom, but just so he could splash some cold water into his face. He couldn't have a panic attack, not now, not at Lydia's.

Natalie didn't judge him for his episodes of course. She maybe wasn't too keen on Stiles, but she wouldn't ever hold his illness against him. She was only looking out for her daughter, didn't want her to get dragged down by his problems. And Stiles could actually understand that. And though he knew, she would even help him go through a attack, he did as best as he could to push it down.

He turned the water off and placed his hands on the sink instead. Stiles raised his head and looked into the mirror, his wet face looking back at him with huge eyes. He was breathing hard. He didn't even notice it, before he saw his chest rising heavily in the mirror. He gripped the edge of the sink harder and closed his eyes, trying everything he could to calm down, even though his wild beating heart distracted him more than anything.

Stiles heard a soft knock at the door and he groaned inwardly. “I.. uh.. I just need a sec.” He answered in a shaking voice. He cursed himself for his lack of control.

“It's me.” Lydia's voice piped.

He swallowed hard, the pulse in his throat driving him crazy.

The lack of answer brought Lydia to opened the door. She had known right away that something was up, that's why she went looking for him in the first place. But that didn't made it any easier to see him hunched over the sink, water dripping down his face, his body all tense.

She went over to him and placed a hand on his bare back, rubbing soothing over his mole covered skin.

“I'm fine.”

“Did you have an attack?”

“Almost. I felt it coming up, but.. I'm fine now.” He assured. He opened his eyes to look at Lydia through the mirror. She sent him a small comforting smile, the one she always gave him, when he woke up from a nightmare. He hated and loved it at the same time.

“Did something trigger it?” Lydia asked after a while, not stopping her gentle touch against his back.

Stiles hesitated. Trying to find an other way than just saying 'yeah, your mom freaked me the hell out'. He bit his lip, turned around and leaned back against the sink. “Your mom made me really nervous. It was like..” He stopped mid sentence, not finding the right words.

“Like what?” Lydia frowned.

“Like.. I don't know. Like she was judging me. Even more than usual.” Stiles sighed and laid his head back in his neck. Lydia was watching him, he felt her eyes burning through him, making him feel weak and open.

She didn't say anything and for Stiles, it felt like she was judging him now, too. He straightened himself and looked at her. Her face was unreadable. He didn't like it. He knew what she was thinking though. She thought of the same thing, she did for almost a week now. The motel.

Stiles shook his head and huffed through his nose. “Why can't anybody let that shit go? It's not that hard.”

Lydia knew instantly, that he was talking about the night at the motel. And Stiles was right about her mother as well. She did judge him. Not for what had happened. As soon as she found out, she had asked, if he was okay now and if there was anything she could do to help. The reason, she eyed him suspiciously since, was that Lydia didn't feel well. She was thoughtful and didn't say much the past days and if there was one thing in life, Natalie wanted to make sure of, is that her daughter was always happy and healthy.

“Yes, it is.” Lydia finally said after a while. “It's hard to get over it.”

Stiles laughed through his nose, even though there was nothing funny about it. “Come on, Lydia, not now.”

“Then when?”

“How about never?”

“Yeah, sure.” Lydia said. She didn't even sound angry or annoyed, just sad somehow.

Stiles shook his head again, before leaving the bathroom.

“Seriously? You leave me standing here like that? We need to talk about it at some point.” She went after him and stopped him in front of the stairs. She didn't want to have that argument downstairs with their family and friends.

“We did talk about it, remember? Right after that. I promised you it wouldn't happen again and that's it.” Stiles knew he wasn't really sensitive, but he couldn't help it. His family and friends were already driving him nuts with their constant reminder of what had almost happened. All he wanted was his girlfriend to be understanding, but it didn't seem as if she had much understanding left for him.

“For someone as smart as you, you're really dumb. You seriously think that's it? You tried to kill yourself, Stiles.” Lydia raised her voice, desperately trying to get him to understand, why she was acting the way she did.

“No, I fucking didn't. I told you about a billion times. I. Didn't. Do it. On purpose. It was an accident. Nothing more and nothing less.” Stiles said with a growl rumbling in his chest. He gestured with his hands, while talking. A habit he had never quite gotten rid of.

“Have you any idea how much I worry about you? That it could happen again or.. I don't know!” Lydia yelled in frustration. She didn't want to fight with him, she just wanted to protect him.

“Well, then stop.”

“You for one should know, you can't just stop worrying over someone you love.”

“Oh, now you pull 'love card'.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? I do love you, not sure if you noticed, but that isn't a dumb card I'm playing or whatever. I just want you to get better.” She said, sounding upset. She didn't get why he was talking to her that way. She surely didn't want to play any games. She was serious about anything she'd said.

“I'm fine. We're done here?” Stiles asked and spread his arms out in an asking matter.

“Seems like it, yeah.”

“Great.”

Stiles turned on his heels and walked down the stairs, taking two steps at the time. His anger boiled right underneath his skin and he didn't want to say anything worse, that he later would regret. So it was the best for him to just walk away for now.

He went outside, searching for his shirt and pulled it on as soon as he found it. His dad – the only one who noticed him so far – watched him with a frown.

“Everything okay?” The father asked, causing the others to look to Stiles. He always got all the attention. He hated it.

“I'm leaving.” He answered simply and walked up to the table. He reached across, extending his hand toward Natalie. “Thanks for the food, Ms. Martin. It was good, as always.” She took his hand, while blinking in surprise at him. Stiles was always polite, especially when it came to his girlfriend's mom.

“Well, thank you, Stiles. You're sure you want to leave already?”

“Yeah, I'm sorry.” Was all he said, before walking back into the house again to get to the front door. He had just reached his goal, as a hand met his shoulder. He turned around to see Isaac beside him.

“Hey, what happened?”

“We fought.” Stiles answered and then added. “And I don't wanna talk about it.”

Isaac laughed. “Mate, since when do I ever wanna _talk_ to you about something?” A little smirk spread across Isaac's lips after his question. Stiles couldn't resist and grinned right back.

“Yeah, alright.” He said and shrugged one shoulder.

“Lemme just grab my shirt and.. I don't know, maybe Scott? And then we head out, okay?”

“Alright.”

Isaac jogged back into the garden and did exactly as he had said. He took his own and Scott's shirt and handed it to him with the words ' _let's have some quality guys time_ '. Scott was surprised over Isaac's offer, but he accepted instantly and shrugged his own shirt on. He kissed his mom on the cheek goodbye, thanked Natalie for the food and told her it had been nice meeting her and lastly hugged Allison, before then finally leaving with Isaac to meet Stiles at the door.

Together the three teenagers walked along the street, heading back to the Stilinski house. Stiles said, he wanted to grab some things and then they could drive over to Isaac's and hang out in their band practice room. The other two agreed with nods.

The walk didn't take them long. They all lived pretty close to each other, which had come often in handy. And with the afternoon sun shining down on them, it even was enjoyable.

At the house, Stiles quickly walked up to his room, ignoring the boxes in the hallway with his mother's stuff on the way (he still had to go through all of it, but avoided it with every passing day and his dad kept quiet about it, because of the incident at the motel).

Stiles searched through his nightstand, looking for his cigarettes. He knew he had them in there, but he couldn't find them, which meant Lydia had hid the pack again. As if he hadn't already a reason to be mad at her. After another minute of searching through his his bedroom – without any success – he grabbed his keys instead and walked down again.

They drove over to Isaac's in Stiles' Jeep, even though he didn't live that far away either, but they were lazy and if they had the possibility to drive somewhere instead of walking, they almost always chose the car.

At the Argent's, the three of them hid themselves in their band room, where all sounds from the outside were isolated. Scott looked curiously around. He had been over there before, when he had study sessions with Allison, but he had never seen the band room.

Of course there were all instruments like Isaac's drum set, Kira's keyboard and a guitar, which Scott guessed belonged to Stiles even though he had one at home as well. There was an guitar amp and cables all over the floor, just as papers with music notes and lyrics on it. But it were the small things, that gave Scott a homey feeling, like the trashy sofa in the corner or the old posters and polaroid photos on the walls.

Scott quickly observed the pictures, they were similar to the ones Stiles had on the walls in his room – the group together on different occasions. Scott hoped, he'd be in a few of those pictures himself at some point.  


The room was dark, only a single neon tube light lit up his surroundings, which didn't make it any easier to not stumble over all the stuff on the floor. The smell in there reminded Scott of a party. It reeked of sweat and smoke and something Scott couldn't quite place, but felt familiar. He absolutely loved this room.

Stiles let himself fall on the sofa with a huff, Isaac did the same, only sitting down on the worn leather chair next to the couch with his legs over the armrest.

"Kick Stiles off the sofa, Scott. He's always taking in all place, that selfish bastard." Isaac said, his voice and face stoic, but that was just his usual self. Scott laughed awkwardly, but before he had to actually consider throwing Stiles' off the couch, his stepbrother sat himself up and laid his legs on the table in front of him instead, making room for Scott and saving him out of his trouble.

Scott sat beside Stiles and he let out a surprised gasp, as the cushion beneath him sunk down and he practically drowned into the couch. Stiles chuckled beside him.

"That thing is older than we are." Stiles remarked and Scott shot him a grin from where he was buried between the cushions.

"Really can't complain here." He answered truthfully and let out a content sigh. Scott thought it was kinda cool to spent some time alone with the guys. He got pretty close to Allison, Kira and Lydia in that short time, mostly because they had welcomed him wholeheartedly. But he hadn't really gotten the chance to get any closer to Isaac or Stiles, though he was in the team with Isaac and well, shared a home with Stiles. He'd wanted to suggest to do something together for quite a while now, but never knew how to ask. So even though the circumstances weren't the best, he enjoyed his time with the guys.

Isaac took the cigarette pack off the table and fished one out to put it between his lips. He lit the cigarette up and then threw the pack and lighter over to Stiles. The items fell right into his lap and he looked down considering, before mumbling a quite 'fuck it' and taking one himself. He'd wanted to quit since forever, but the truth was he needed something to calm down. And smoking a cigarette would get him in less trouble than starting smoking weed again.

Scott watched both of them quietly and he actually felt guilty, because his life had always been pretty simple. His worst experience was his parents' divorce and even that had been manageable. He wondered why life was so cruel toward Isaac and Stiles and asked himself, if some people were just meant to walk a harder way than others.

The mood in the room was hard to describe. It wasn't depressed, but it wasn't normal or happy either. Each one of the three were in their own thoughts. The smoke curling around them in the dusty air. Stiles liked watching the blueish smoke dance along.

"Hey" Isaac mumbled over his cigarette, pulling the stepbrothers out of their thoughts and causing them to look up to him. "Want something to drink?" He bent forward from his place on the armchair and opened a mini fridge Scott hadn't even seen before. "I've got like soda and stuff." Isaac added for Scott.

They both accepted and Isaac threw each one of them a can of soda. Scott thanked him, while Stiles was already opening the can with a cracking sound. He sipped on it twice, before placing his drink to his side and stretching his hand out toward Isaac.

"Hand me my guitar."

"Get up and get it yourself, fucker."

"It's right beside you, dumbass."

Isaac looked over his shoulder, angling his head in a weird position, but he actually caught sight on the instrument. He made a grab for it and then handed it over to Stiles without another snarky remark.

Stiles let his bony fingers dance over the strings a few times, playing nothing particular, but filling the silence with nice sounds. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes, the cigarette hanging loosely from his lips, while he lazily played.

The other two listened to him, though Isaac let himself slide down the chair and on his knees. He bent forward and dug around the cupboard in front him until he found what he was looking for. He held two controllers in one hand and showed Scott the Mario Kart game in his other. Isaac raised his eyebrow in question at him and Scott nodded in agreement with a smile on his lips. Isaac threw him one of the controllers and Scott thought Isaac had a serious thing for throwing things around instead of handing them over.

Isaac turned the tv and console on, before sitting back on the armchair. He turned the volume down, so Stiles' guitar play still dominated the noise in the room.

They started the game and for a moment neither of them said anything, the game a distant background noise to the clicking sounds of the buttons of the controllers. That was until Isaac had his first crash, dumping his Princess Peach into a wall and started swearing out loud. Scott cackled along as he guided Yoshi over the finish line, winning the first race.

Isaac huffed in annoyance and let the controller fall into his lap. "You know, I changed my mind. I can't stand you."

"Revenge?" Scott asked cockily and wiggles his brows.

"I'm gonna beat your ass, just wait for it." Isaac replied, a growl rumbling in his throat, as he started a new race.

Stiles watched them play, while his fingers still stroked over the strings of his guitar. He didn't really pay much attention to either task, his mind drifting to Lydia and their fight. He sighed and took one last drag of his cigarette, before he squeezed it into the ashtray on the table.

Isaac got hit with an item and lost control over his kart again, throwing him back on the 12th position. “What the fuck?!” He roared and stood up from his place on the chair, trying to concentrate harder on the game.

“You know the goal of that game, don't you?” Stiles asked, sounding bored, but he had a little smirk on his face. Scott laughed at his remark, driving without any trouble in the lead.

“Shut the fuck up, Stilinski.” He respond and sat back down in his chair.

Stiles didn't say anything other. He took a gulp of his soda, before turning his attention back to his guitar again. He tried various tunes, playing them in different orders until he liked the sound of it. He hummed along to the melodic sounds, the lyrics already on his tongue, but not quite right yet. “Help me polarize, help me polarize, help me now- no.” He stopped himself, starting playing from the beginning again. “help me  _out_. - Yeah, that's better.” He mumbled to himself. “My friends and I, we got a lot of problems.” He ended the line and raised his head.

“I need to write that down.” Stiles said louder this time, even though he was still talking to himself than actually addressing someone. “Where are the goddamn papers?” He let his guitar drop to his side on the couch and then stood up to search for something to write his ideas down. He found a piece of cardboard in the trashcan, but still needed a pencil.

“Isaac, where's the fucking pen? I need to write that down, before I forget it.” Stiles rumbled, not getting an answer, while he started walking through the room. He stopped in front of Isaac's chair and Isaac immediately kicked his feet against Stiles' legs.

“Get the fuck out of my sight! I'm losing the race, because of you, shithead!”

“Stop kicking me, asshole. You're losing anyway.”

“Fuck, Stiles!”

“Where's the pen?”

“In your ass, if I'm losing cause of you!”

Stiles ignored him, but stepped to the side. He found the pen hidden between all the things on the floor. “Found it.”

“Yeah and I lost.”

“Cry me a river.”

“You're insensitive.”

“Lydia said the same.”

Isaac shut his mouth.

Stiles flopped down on the sofa and started scribbling the notes and lyrics down on the paper. It wasn't much yet, but he hadn't even intend to write something, so it was better than nothing. Isaac and Scott started a third race, even though they all knew, Isaac would be losing again. He always lost in racing games.

The guitar back in his lap, Stiles played the tunes again. He repeated the one line he already got, before thinking about how to go from there. Isaac's swearing and Scott's laugh filled the room again. And just how they knew, Isaac lost the round again. “Fuck you, Scott!” He threw his controller over to Stiles. It landed with a loud thud right on his guitar.

“Dammit, Isaac, my guitar!”

“Cry me a river.” Isaac aped Stiles' earlier words.

Stiles rolled his eyes, but set the instrument aside, instead taking the controller in his hand. He switched Princess Peach to Bowser and started a new race. And that's basically everything they did the whole afternoon long; drinking soda, smoking cigarettes and playing video games, and as they got tired of it – or more like Isaac's constant complaining, when he lost – they turned the tv on and watched a South Park marathon.

There was something comforting about watching a tv show full of fucked up characters. And Stiles suddenly wished he could live in South Park and blend in with all the other crazy people living there.

* * *

Lydia raised the next shot to her lips and drowned the liquid in there. Her throat was burning from it, but it still was easier to bear than the ache in her heart, whenever she thought of Stiles this night.

She was tipsy. Okay, she was _drunk_ as shit, but she had fun and she didn't need Stiles or the girls or someone else for it. She was Lydia freaking Martin, she knew how to rock the world alone.

That she was all by herself now wasn't coincidence either. After the guys had left the pool party, it was safe to say that no one was in the mood anymore to chat happily along with each other. Lydia had felt bad for ruining her mom's party. She'd apologized and her mom had assured her, the party didn't matter to her.

" _But I can't bear seeing you all sad, sweetie_." Natalie had said and Lydia had known right away what she actually meant by that. _I know Stiles tries to be good, but he isn't. Not for you._ Which wasn't true and that's why she had gotten into a fight with her mother as well. Sure, she and Stiles often argued, but that was mostly because they were both passionate (and stubborn) and - as stupid as it sounded - Lydia actually like those arguments she had with Stiles. Because it meant he could put up with her and she had always wanted someone equal to her.

The fight though, that was something different. That she didn't like. He had hurt her and she knew she'd hurt him as well. But that still didn't mean he wasn't good for her. Stiles was always good to her. He protected her with all he got. He showed openly his affection, no matter who was around. Stiles made her feel special and wanted. So it wasn't fair of her mother to put him out as the bad guy, when all he did was doing his best for her.

Lydia and her mom hadn't fought in front of the others, but they still had known that something was up. So after an awkward hour of small talk, they all had said their goodbyes. Lydia had tried to convince Allison to go out, to do something without the boys and she had answered that was a good idea and they would do that, as soon as she and Stiles made up again, because she didn't want to have a night out with Lydia just so she could rub it in Stiles' face later. That had pissed Lydia off - even though she had known she would have said the exact same thing, if it had been the other way around - and she'd wanted to go partying even more after that.

So she'd made herself pretty, put more make up on than usual and slipped into the shortest dress she owned, just so she would have all eyes on her. Of course she would never let another guy near her, but Lydia had been in desperate need of attention and she'd made sure she got it.

That's how she ended up in a club a little outside of town. She knew it was reckless to go out all by herself with the intention to get hella drunk, but in that moment, she just hadn't cared - and she still didn't. She had no idea, how she would get home or what the night still had planned for her, but for once she enjoyed not knowing everything.

Lydia stumbled back onto the dance floor, moving her body drunkenly to the music. She felt bodies press against her, but she never let anyone with intention closer to her. She was drunk, but still knew she had a boyfriend, even though he was the reason, she was at the club at all.

Lydia had always enjoyed a good party and this time was no different. She liked the light dizziness she felt because of the alcohol. She liked the loud music drumming in her ears, causing her body to move rhythmically on its own. It made her feel free and careless.

It felt like she was dancing for hours, though she knew it couldn't have been longer than a handful of minutes, as someone bumped forcefully into her and caused her to stumble over her own feet and land on her butt. She sat on the floor, blinking in surprise, as she took in her surroundings of uncountable legs dancing around her.

Two strong hands wrapped around her body and she got pulled up into a standing position again. A worried face appeared in front of her own, observing with kind brown eyes, if she was hurt.

"Are you alright?" The guy yelled in question over the loud music.

Lydia still hadn't quite registered what actually had happen. She reached behind her and rubbed a palm over her ass. "My butt hurts." She yelled back.

The guy suppressed an amused smirk at her answer. "But otherwise you're okay, right?" He asked again, but didn't sound as worried anymore. Lydia nodded a yes.

He let go of her arms and Lydia wobbled slightly at the loss of support, but he was quick enough to catch her again. "Let's get you out of here, alright?"

"I.. I don't know you." Lydia hiccuped. She grabbed for his biceps - a really nice biceps - to hold herself upright. Stiles would kill her for making herself vulnerable like that.

"Just out of the club for some fresh air, hm? We can stand near the security, if that makes you feel safer." He suggested with a friendly smile, his teeth shining white in the lights of the club.

Lydia nodded again.

Together they fought their way through the mass of drunk people until they reached the exit. As promised, they stayed near the security guard by the door, as the guy leaned Lydia against the wall, so she could support her weight without his help.

Lydia leaned heavily against the wall and for the first time that night, she didn't like the dizzy feeling. She locked her eyes on the strangers face, trying to focus on only one point to stop her swaying.

He was good looking. His skin was naturally tanned, showing off the defined muscles of his arms. He had kind brown eyes and matching short dark hair. His face was perfectly shaped and every time he smiled, he revealed bright white teeth. He wasn't exactly Lydia's type, but she sure thought he was attractive.

"What's your name?" He kindly asked after a few minutes of silence.

"L-Lydia." She slurred slightly. She wished, she could get rid of her drunken state now, because Lydia Martin didn't slur drunken words. She left good first impressions. Usually.

"Hey, Lydia. I'm Danny. You're feeling any better now?"

Lydia started to giggle, quietly at first, but ended up in hysterical laughing. No, she didn't feel any better. She'd fought with Stiles and instead of trying to talk it out, she went partying to drown her sorrow in alcohol. She loved Stiles so much, but it wasn't always easy doing so.

She thought back to the time, she'd told him, she wanted to be together with him. _I love you, Lydia. Believe me, I fell in love with you so easily, but_ loving _you so is really hard for me. I'm so damaged. Getting loved by me comes with so much trouble. I can't do this. I can't do this to you._ He had said. And then he had had a panic attack right after. And she had kissed him, even though he'd just rejected her. Her lips against his had stopped his breathing and ended the panic attack and he'd been awestruck by the way she'd handled his damaged self, he'd wanted to kiss her again. But he hadn't. Instead he'd listened to her. She'd explained to him, she could handle him, told him how much a better person he made her. And he'd accepted.

Since then, they went through everything together.

And now she was leaning against the wall of a club outside town, drunkenly chatting with a stranger, who could've been easily someone, that wasn't as nice as Danny.

She wasn't fine.

"I'm fine."

Lydia sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, regretted it immediately though, as it made her even more dizzy. She blinked them open again and licked over her dry lips. Stiles always had dry lips. Damn him.

"Are you here with someone?"

"Nope." Lydia let the 'p' pop and grinned brightly at Danny.

"Is there someone, who can pick you up?" He asked instead, patiently and still with a small smile on his lips. He was like an angel. So nice and kind and lovable.

"Uhm.." Lydia made humming noise, while thinking. There was only one right person to call, she knew that.

"Maybe your mom or dad, or-"

"Stiles."

"What?"

"Stiles."

"What's that?"

"My boyfriend."

"Oooh." Danny murmured in understanding.

"Mhm."

Lydia slid down along the wall until her butt meet the ground. She sighed happily and crossed her legs, before Danny started laughing and suggested to keep her legs straight. She looked down in confusion, but then she knew what he meant. Her short dress had slipped upwards, her panties on full sight. Lydia straightened her legs again and pushed the hem of her dress down.

Danny sat himself beside her, he kept a little distance between them, but was still close enough Lydia could feel his warmth. He reminded her of Scott. He was warm and good and comforting. Lydia liked Danny.

"How come that boyfriend of yours isn't with you?"

"We fought."

"Yeah, I did too with my boyfriend."

Lydia turned her head to look over to Danny. He had an understanding smirk on his lips. Lydia smiled.

"Sucks."

"Like hell it does."

Lydia looked down to the purse in her lap. She opened it with little struggle and then started digging through it until she found her phone. It took her three runs, but then she finally managed to unlock it. She handed it over to Danny.

"Call him for me?" Lydia mumbled and Danny had trouble understanding her words, but he didn't need any to know what she wanted from him. He took the phone in his hand and opened Lydia's contacts. He scrolled down to 'S', looking for Styles. The section started with Scott, he scrolled further down, briefly wondered what the contact 'Sheriff' was about and then almost at the end he found someone named Stiles. He guessed that was him, so he tapped on the name and after that on the call button.

After three rings someone picked up.

"Hey." Danny smirked. That was the typical answer after a fight. It sounded like 'I'm glad you called, but I'm still pissed, just so you know'.

"Hey, here's Danny. Is this Stiles, Lydia's boyfriend?" Lydia giggles beside him at his question.

The other side of the line went silent for a long moment and Danny actually checked, if the call got ended. It didn't. Just as he wanted to say something again, Stiles answered with a short "yeah".

"Great. Listen-"

"Where's Lydia?" Stiles' voice was hard, not aggressive, but surely not friendly either.

"She's fine, don't worry. She's right beside me. It's just.. she's really drunk-"

"I'm not that druuuunk." Lydia complained. Stiles could hear her. And yeah, she was drunk.

"Anyway, it would be great, if you could like pick her up? We're at the Darach Club. Do you know where that is? It's a-"

"Yeah, I know where that is. I'm on my way." Stiles interrupted and hung up right after that. Danny blinked, a little startled by the strange behavior. He felt uneasy. Stiles hadn't done the best impression and Danny really didn't want to hand Lydia over to someone, who could harm her in any way.

He considered what to do and then opened the notes on her phone. He gave her his number and left a note, before locking the phone without closing the app, so it would be the first thing to show as soon as she unlocked the phone again. He handed it back afterwards.

Lydia was looking at her nails, humming a song Danny didn't know, and it took her a second to notice, he was done with the phone call. She beamed at him, as she took the phone back.

"Thank you so muuuch." Lydia said dreamily.

Danny hesitated, before asking. "Your boyfriend.. is he.. you know, good to you?"

Lydia looked into Danny's face, wondering - even in her drunken state - where the question was coming from.

"Of course." She said with a grin.

"He isn't.." Danny considered his words. "hurting you or anything, right?"

Lydia gaped at him, before bursting into a laughing fit, the second one for the night. She held her stomach and threw her head back, but Danny patiently waited for an honest answer. When Lydia saw, Danny was serious, she swallowed her laugh down and hiccuped.

"Stiles is like.. He would rather hurt himself, before anything happens to me." Lydia assured, but suddenly felt really sad. He would hurt himself for her. He had almost done so in the night at the motel.

Danny nodded, still unsure about her answer, because Stiles had sounded really strange over the phone. He didn't know what to think of that guy, but he'd been the one Lydia wanted him to call, so there wasn't much think about in the first place. He just hoped, she really was safe with her boyfriend.

“Aren't you.. supposed to be warm, when you're drunk?” Lydia mumbled annoyed and rubbed her hands over her arms. She hated sitting on a cold ground somewhere outside of Beacon Hills, drunk and with no one she knew by her side. She'd enjoyed her night alone, but now it sucked pretty badly though.

Danny looked at Lydia, while thinking about what do to. He didn't knew that girl, but still felt responsible for her. “Alright.” He said and pulled himself up in a standing position again. He looked down to her and briefly bit his bottom lip, before continuing. “My friend's here with his car. I'm gonna go grab his keys and then we can warm up in the car and wait for your boyfriend there.”

Lydia smiled up to him and nodded, though he wasn't so sure, if she really understood what he'd said. “Alright, I'm gonna be back in a sec, just please, please wait for me here, okay? Don't go away.” Danny took a last glance at Lydia, before disappearing back into the club and out of Lydia's sight.

Lydia twirled one red strand of her hair around her finger, while letting her eyes wander around. She could still feel the alcohol buzzing in her system, tempting her to go inside the club again to party a little longer. But Stiles was already on his way and she guessed he already was pissed at her enough.

Instead of going back inside, she grabbed along the wall to somehow get back to her feet. As soon as she stood safety on her own, she tip toed on her heels to the edge of the sidewalk. Lydia stretched both her arms to either side and then balanced along the sidewalk with a big smile on her face.

When Danny came back outside, he looked back to the ground, where Lydia was sitting before and instantly cursed himself for letting her by herself. That was until he saw her dancing along the sidewalk. With hurried steps he walked towards her and took her gently by her arm.

“God, Lydia, could you please try to not kill yourself here?” Danny said, relieved that he found her, but a little shocked by what she was doing. She was drunk and Danny would have never forgiven himself, if she fell in front of a car, just because he didn't stay with her.

“My boyfriend did too, so whatever.” She giggled and he would've found it adorable, if it weren't for _what_ she had said.

“Did what? Fall in front of a car?” He asked with an unsure chuckle in his voice. He dragged her off the edge of the sidewalk, making her walk along the walls of the houses again.

“Tried to kill himself.” She answered and her voice sounded so lovely, he wondered, if she knew what she was talking about. “And it was a truck actually.” She grinned up to him. Her hand slid along the wall of the club, they were walking by, and Danny thought, the only thing missing was that she started whistling and hopping, and then she would've looked like the most careless person in the world.

Danny stayed silent, because firstly it wasn't any of his business and secondly, he wasn't sure, if she knew what they were just talking about at all, because no one would talk so carelessly about suicide – not even in a drunken state. So he decided to just let it slip and directed her to the parking lot of the club and to his friend's car.

What he didn't notice – because Lydia was perfectly capable of hiding it – were the little tears, that formed in her eyes, while thinking back to the night at the motel. Stiles had explained it to her often enough, had said to her, it wasn't intentional and she knew he was right, but it didn't make her feel any better.

Danny opened the car and Lydia slipped into the backseat. It smelled like smoke in there, but for once she didn't mind the smell. She kicked her heels of, closed her eyes and breathed in the scent, that reminded her of her boyfriend.

* * *

As soon as Stiles ended the call, he told Issac and Scott what was up, while making his way out of their band room. The other two followed him in curiosity, clearly sensing Stiles' distress. Scott didn't even think about it too long, before telling Stiles he would join him, who in return only nodded. He didn't care as long as he would get to Lydia soon. They said a quick goodbye to Isaac and then drove off.

The ride was mostly silent. Scott was pretty sure, there were endless thoughts whirling around Stiles' mind and he didn't really knew what to say to make him feel better. So he just kept silent, only offering a light pat to Stiles' shoulder, which was enough for Stiles anyway. He didn't need any comforting words. What he needed, was to know, if Lydia was okay and he could only find out by driving further down the street.

They drove for about half an hour, but for both of them it felt way longer. Stiles wasn't the only one, who felt anxious. Scott was friends with Lydia, too and of course, he didn't want anything to happen to her.

Stiles parked his Jeep in one of the free lots and killed the engine immediately afterwards, surrounding them with darkness, after the lights of his car shut down. He grabbed his keys, opened the door and slipped out of the seat. Now that he was so close to get to Lydia, he was even more restless than before. His nerves prickled right under his skin and his whole body vibrated from the tension. He closed and opened his hands to fists a few times in an attempt to stop the shaking.

Scott followed right behind him. He was nervous and didn't really feel comfortable meeting a stranger in a people absent dark place. But that had been the main reason, why he'd chosen to go with Stiles in the first place. He would've never forgiven himself, if something happened to him and he wasn't there to help him or – and that was more likely – if Stiles started a fight with this guy and he couldn't have prevented it. So he silently followed Stiles, walking further down the bad lighted parking lot in the direction of the only person, who was with them out here.

The guy took a few steps forward their way, meeting them halfway. He looked them both up and down and got greeted with a nervous smile from Scott and a stoic expression from Stiles.

“You're Danny?” Stiles asked after a few moments of silence. He sounded way more collected and calm than he actually felt.

“Yeah, I am. Then you must be Stiles.” Danny answered, his voice uncertain as he eyed Stiles warily.

Instead of answering, Stiles asked the next and most important question. “Where's she?”

Danny didn't answer right away, he kept looking at Stiles and then shook his head. He wanted Lydia to get safety home and he wouldn't just hand her out to some guys. They did know his name, so it was safe to say one of them was indeed her boyfriend. But though Lydia had declined earlier and assured him, Stiles was in no way aggressive toward her, he didn't trust her drunken words and wanted to make sure himself, she would be safe with these guys.

“I asked, if you're Stiles.” He repeated himself finally.

Stiles huffed out a fake laugh and then raised his open palms up in the air in an asking manner. “Actually, you didn't ask that. But yeah, I am, who the hell else should I be?!” His brows furrowed in confusion and annoyance. He just wanted to get his girlfriend and drive back home.

Danny ignored Stiles' harsh answer, instead nodded his head to the guy next to Stiles.“And who's that?”

An annoyed sigh left Stiles lips and he closed his eyes for a moment. He really wanted to get this over peacefully, but if this guy kept him any longer from his girlfriend, he wouldn't shy away from using his fists to get to her.

He opened his eyes again and met Danny's gaze. “That's Scott. He's-” Stiles stopped himself and took a glance to his side, looking at Scott. “He's uhm.. he's.. he's my brother.” He finally said, while looking back to Danny. He couldn't believe, he just introduced Scott as his brother, but he didn't want to drag everything out any longer, so he just did it.

Scott seemed equally surprised about Stiles' introduction, but he didn't let it show. He extended his hand toward Danny and after a few seconds of starring at Scott's hand, he shook it with a little smile.

“Lydia's back here in my friend's car. She was freezing so much, so I asked to get the keys and let her wait in the car for you.” Danny explained, while walking back to the car he had been leaning on earlier. Stiles absolutely didn't like the idea of Lydia sitting in a car of a stranger, but Danny had been nothing but nice so far and he guessed, he really just wanted to make sure, she'd get safety home. Still, Stiles kept his suspiciousness up. A small amount of distrust had always kept him safe so far.

They walked to the car together and Danny opened the back door, revealing a very drunken Lydia. She had her legs thrown over the front seat, causing her short dress to ride up her thighs. Her head was thrown back and she looked bored, while mouthing something so quietly, no one really understood what she was saying.

“Lydia?” Stiles asked, when she didn't acknowledged them. She let out a surprised gasp as she turned her head in Stiles' direction. And then she started squealing loudly and stretched her arms out of the car.

“Stiiiles.” She let out, sounding like a little kid. She was an adorable drunk. Stiles smirked at her, and took her hands, who still tried to make a grab for him, in his own. As soon as he held her, she wiggled herself out of the seat, which wasn't as easy as she thought with her legs still up the front seat. She whined helplessly and fell forward, her upper body hanging out of the car in an awkward angle.

“Dammit, Lydia.” Stiles grunted out and crouched down in front of her. He laid her hands on his shoulders, so he could place his arms around her waist. He heaved her out of the car and she giggled happily, wrapping her legs around his hips and exposing even more skin.

“You're so hot!” She tried to whisper, but Danny and Scott heard her just as clearly as Stiles. Scott had to suppress a laugh, because he never had seen Lydia that way. She was always in control of herself – normally. “You're super super duper hot. Didn't I tell you, Danny? My boyfriend's so sexy.” She smiled over Stiles' shoulder to Danny. He chuckled awkwardly, but nodded his head in confirmation.

“Scott, you're here, tooo.” Lydia smiled brightly, as she saw Scott beside Danny. He greeted her with a laugh and a soft 'hey, Lydia'.

“Come on, get you're ass down here.” Stiles interrupted their conversation. He made a move to loosen his hold on her, but she started whining and wiggled her feet, pressing them closer to his ass to get a better grip around his hips.

“Nooo, carry meee.”

“Lydia-”

“Isn't it way better to have my lips up here?” She smiled drunkenly at him and tried to sound seductive and Stiles really had to give her credit, because she sounded sexy as hell with her voice all roughed up, but that alone didn't make him weak.

“Lydia-” He tried a second time, but again, she shut him up, this time with a kiss to his lips. She wandered away from his mouth and bent her head down to his neck. She started licking and biting at his skin there and Stiles only let out a tired sigh. It would be no use to argue with her, when she was like that.

“Come on, Scott. Let's go, before she starts stripping down.” Lydia giggled adorably at Stiles' words, but didn't stop her ministrations. She sucked eagerly on his neck, while circling her arms tighter around his shoulders.

“Oh, wait. Her shoes and purse.” Danny threw in as Stiles made his first step. He bent in the car and took Lydia's heels and the purse, before closing the door and locking it with the key. “Here.” He said and stretched his arm toward Scott. He took Lydia's stuff in his hands and thanked Danny.

They started walking in the direction of Stiles' Jeep. Slowly, because Lydia really didn't make it easy for Stiles to carry her. She constantly wiggled and tried to press herself closer to his body, even though they already were chest to chest. She nibbled at his neck and when she took a harder bite, Stiles let out a swear.

“Fuck, Lydia. Could you please stop giving me hickeys in front of people?!” He sounded annoyed, even though he wasn't. Okay, maybe a little, but he mostly was just really tired. Lydia was a cute drunk, but that didn't change the fact, that she went partying and drowned herself in alcohol, just because they had been fighting.

“I'm only people?” Scott asked in a faked sad voice. “I'm hurt.” He added with a sniff of his nose. Stiles rolled his eyes at him in respond.

“Yeah, Scott can watch. You're sharing a room anyway.” Lydia laughed against his neck, making no real sense, but she didn't care. She happily licked a long line on Stiles' neck, from the hem of his shirt up to his ear, all the while holding Scott's gaze, who in return swallowed heavily and broke their eye contact.

When they reached the Jeep, Stiles pressed Lydia against it to hold her upright, while fumbling his keys out of his pockets. As soon as he found them, he threw them at Scott, who caught them easily. He stepped around Danny and unlocked the Jeep, before opening the door. He fold down the front seat, so Stiles could sit Lydia in the back.

She complaint quietly, as Stiles sat her down, but eventually let it happen. Tiredness consumed her and she yawned openly, while leaning back into the familiar seats of the Jeep. Stiles shrugged out of his zip-up hoodie and helped Lydia pulling it on. She smiled brightly at him and then buried her nose in the long sleeves. She loved Stiles' scent.

Stiles let out a strained sigh, while bringing the seat back into an upright position. He turned to Danny, who stood silently beside the Jeep and Stiles didn't know what to say, so he only extended his hand towards him. Danny's lips formed into a smile and he took Stiles' hand and shook it with a nod, understanding the gesture even without words.

Stiles cleared his throat and scratched absently at his neck, before pointing at his car. “We should head back, so..”

“Yeah, of course.” Danny replied instantly. “Bye, Scott.” He said and clapped Scott on the shoulder. Scott said his goodbyes as well and then hopped into the Jeep.

Lydia looked out of the window and waved Danny with a big grin. He chuckled quietly, but raised his hand to wave shortly back. After that, he turned to Stiles. “Take care.”

“Yeah, you too. And.. thanks for looking out for her.” He finally spoke his thanks out loud.

“No big deal.” Danny assured and then took a few steps back, so Stiles could walk around the Jeep and get into the car. Danny waited until Stiles pulled on the road, only then making his way back into the club.

* * *

 

When they arrived home, Stiles got Lydia out of the Jeep again. Scott helped him by opening or closing doors, locking the car and carrying Lydia's things. As they entered the house, Melissa came into their sights. She had a glass of wine in her hand and the smile, she had had on her lips, slipped off, as soon as she saw in which state Lydia was in.

“Oh my god, is she okay?” Melissa asked worried and put her glass down on the little coffee table next to her. She made a few steps towards the teenagers to get a better look at the young girl.

“She's fine, just drunk.” Stiles said and looked down to Lydia. He carried her the same way as before, only that now, Lydia was on her best way to pass out from tiredness, which made it even harder to carry her as before with all her wiggling. Because now she didn't made any attempt of holding herself upright. One of Stiles' arms was wrapped under her butt and the other pressed to her back. She constantly slipped down his front and moaned in complain every time that Stiles hoisted her up again.

“I bring her upstairs, I can't hold her much longer.” Stiles said just as his dad came around the corner, seemingly curious as to why everyone was in the hallway. He looked just as surprised and shocked, when he saw Lydia in his son's arms.

“Make sure, she drinks enough water, before she falls asleep.” Melissa called after Stiles.

While Stiles brought his girlfriend upstairs, Scott stayed downstairs to explain what happened. He told them, that after the fight, he, Isaac and Stiles went over to the Argent's and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there, until someone called Stiles from Lydia's phone and told him, she needed a pick up. Scott assured them both, that Lydia was fine so far except for her drunkenness.

“Maybe she was so upset about their fight, she looked for a way to release some steam, so she went partying.” Melissa thought out loud. She took her glass back and began sipping on her wine.

“Yeah, but all by herself? I never thought Lydia was that.. reckless.” Scott said, because he had always thought, Lydia was the reasonable one of the relationship.

“Lydia's always up for a good party.” Noah threw in with an amused smile. He didn't put too much thought into the past events. Lydia was after all just a teenage girl. “And you know, sometimes it can happen, that even the innocent ones do something reckless.” Noah added with a wink, before walking back into the living room, where he had sat on the sofa before.

Scott sighed and then pointed with his finger towards the stairs. “I'm gonna look if Stiles needs help with anything.”

“Alright. Good night, Scott.” Melissa said with a smile and stroked him once over the arm in a motherly gesture. “Tell me, if something's wrong.”

“Will do.” Scott said over his shoulder, while he already made his way over to the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and turned around again. “Hey, mom?”

Melissa, who had already walked a few steps into the living room, came back into the hallway and looked at her son.

“Stiles called me his brother. It was kinda awkward, but I think.. I don't know. We're making process?”

Melissa couldn't stop the little laugh, that escaped her. “That's really good news. I'm glad you two getting along.” She told him honestly. As long as the boys would get closer, she would be happy. Even if Stiles would never see her as anything more as his father's new partner, it would be okay, when he at least acknowledged Scott.

After a last smile towards his mom, Scott quickly walked upstairs and when he came into the room, Lydia was already tucked in bed. Scott walked over to Stiles' desk, where Lydia's dress was laying on top. He put her shoes and purse on top of it, and then walked over to the bed.

“She's fine, passed out right away.” Stiles told him, before he had to ask, which was something, that rarely happened. Most of the times, Scott still had to try his best to get Stiles to open up to him.

“She's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning.” Scott said with a chuckle, while walking over to his clothes to search for something to wear in the night.

“Nah.” Stiles said, his look trained on his sleeping girlfriend, before he raised his gaze to Scott's. “She's never hungover. It's really not fair, especially when you lay right beside her and all you wanna do is throw up, while she's happily chatting your ear off.”

“You're serious?” Scott gawked at Stiles, before shaking his head. “Man, what would I give for that gift.” He added dreamily.

Stiles only respond was a little laugh.

* * *

When Lydia woke up the next morning, she felt tired and shiftless, which made absolutely no sense, since she just woke up. She looked around her surroundings and for a moment, confusion took over. She remembered fighting with Stiles, so why was she..? Oh yeah, right. With a loud whine, she buried her face into the pillow, as all the memories of last night floated back into her mind. She wanted to hide forever in her own little shame bubble.

She turned her head and looked over to Stiles' side of the bed. It was empty. Just as the mattress right next to the bed. So the plan, to just hide in the blankets, would work out perfectly, if she wouldn't be in desperate need of a toilet.

After a few seconds of considering to stay in bed with a fully bladder or forcing herself out of the comfy and warm blankets, she finally swung a leg over the edge of the bed to get up. She grumbled quietly to herself, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

On her way to the bathroom, she looked down on herself and saw one of Stiles' shirts hanging down her body. She thought, she had thrown it off somewhat during the night, but maybe it had just been a dream.

Entering the bathroom, she fumbled for the light switch, only to see, that the light was already on. Stiles stood in front of the sink and brushed his teeth, while humming Knocking On Heaven's Door by Guns 'n Roses. When he spotted her in the doorway, he gave her a foamy grin, before turning back to the mirror again.

“I need to pee.” Lydia said and walked into the bathroom to get to the toilet.

“Gohd monin yourfelf.” Stiles mumbled over his toothbrush.

“What?!”

He spit the paste into the sink and then turned to Lydia. “Good morning yourself.”

“Ugh.” She sighed and pushed at his shoulders. “I really need to pee, so please?”

“No one's stopping you.” Stiles answered, not moving an inch from his spot. He took the toothbrush back into his mouth and started scrubbing again.

“I won't do that in front of you.” She grumbled her complain.

Stiles raised his eyebrows at her through the mirror. “Why? I'm doing it all the time.”

“I'm aware, thanks.”

Stiles turned his head in her direction again to have a better look at her. She was awfully snippy this morning, which could only mean so much. A big grin formed around his toothbrush. “Hey, are you hungover?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. “No, I'm not. I'm just annoyed, because my bladder is about to explode.” She said, while beginning to shove at his shoulder again to make him move. He chuckled lowly, before finally rinsing his mouth. He put a kiss to her forehead and then made his way out of the bathroom.

When she was all by herself, she let out a relieved sigh and then went over to the toilet, flopping the seat down. She wasn't even sitting for a second, as Stiles opened the door with a cocky smirk on his face.

“You forgot to lock the door.” He sang happily.

Lydia shrieked and made a grab for the first thing that came to her hand. Unfortunately, it was the toilet paper roll and she only noticed, when it was already to late. The roll hit Stiles on the chest, before he caught it in his hands. He raised his eyebrows at Lydia, who in return whined and buried her face in her hands.

“You're so evil.” She murmured. “Can you please go now, so I can drown in shame?”

Stiles let out another chuckle, while walking over and sitting the toilet paper back to its place. “Married couples see each other like that like all the time.” He reasoned.

“Yeah, well, we're not married.”

“Yet.” Stiles whispered dramatically and then puckered his lips and made smooching noise. All the while walking backwards, until he was finally out of the door again. He shut it with a wink and went to his room.

Lydia hated herself for it, but she couldn't help but laugh at her dork of a boyfriends.

After she relieved herself, she went over to the sink and looked into the mirror. Her whole make-up was smeared around her eyes, making her look like a panda. But not like a cute panda, more like a you-were-so-drunk-the-other-night-panda. That Stiles managed to smile at her the way he always does, even though she looked worse than hell, made her heart flutter helplessly. Maybe he was an annoying idiot sometimes, but at least he was her idiot.

She made herself presentable again; washing her face, brushing her teeth and knotting her hear into a messy bun. She looked somewhat better after that, but for once, she actually didn't care that much what she looked like in the moment.

Walking back into Stiles' room, she found her boyfriend sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly waiting for her. Her gave her a little smile, as she sat down beside him. They didn't say anything for a while. They both knew, what they needed to talk about, but it was so much better to just sit there and enjoy the silence together. Unfortunately, they couldn't do that forever, so Stiles started their conversation after a few minutes.

“Did you went partying, because of our fight?”

Lydia stayed silent a little while longer, but then answered him with a nod. “I told the girls I wanted to go out, do something without you for once – we're spending way too much time together.” She added jokingly. Normally it was Stiles, who couldn't stay serious, when he felt uncomfortable, but as it seemed this habit went over to her as well. It was as she just had said; they spent too much time together, they characters already forming into one.

“Anyway.” She continued. “They told me to keep it low and that I shouldn't overreact. And well.. you know what I do, when someone tells me I shouldn't overreact.”

“You overreact.” Stiles hummed amused.

“Yeah.” Lydia confirmed with a little smile. She held her gaze down on the floor, but she felt Stiles' eyes looking her up. She even knew, that he had this typical look on his face, that always showed how much he loved her. He always looked at her like that in such moments.

They fell into silence again. Stiles raised his hand and twirled a single strand of Lydia's hair around his fingers, before tucking it behind her ear. He thought, she was beautiful like that; without make-up on and dark circles under her eyes, in only his shirt. She would always look perfect to him.

“I'm sorry.”

“Stiles, no.. You don't have to be sorry.”

“But I am. Because I could never lose you. Seriously, I would go out of my freaking mind. I'm so protective over you, I shouldn't judge you for trying the same.” Stiles told her in a soft voice. This time it was him, who turned his gaze low and Lydia, who looked at him. His features were so soft and sharp at the same time. He had such an unique look, she couldn't get enough of it.

“The only exception is, that you don't make me feel bad by trying to protect me. I really shouldn't have hold that against you. It's just as you said, you didn't do it on purpose. It's like judging you for something you did in your sleep.” Lydia briefly closed her eyes in realization and Stiles chuckled beside her. He thought he  _had_ done it in his sleep.

They stayed silent for a moment. They both had hurt each other, but in the end, it was just because they cared for the other. No one was really at fault here.

“Lay down with me?” Stiles asked softly.

Lydia smiled at him and she looked so pretty and all happy, it took his breath away.

They ended up spooning. Stiles chest pressed against Lydia's back, her body fitting perfectly into his, it mesmerized him every time.

“I'm scared too, you know?” Stiles admitted, whispering the words into her messy bun and tightening his arms around her just a tiny bit more. Lydia pressed back against him, gesturing him to continue without having to use words.

Stiles laid his head against hers, but not before kissing the shell of her ear once. “I've had issues my whole life, but the night at the motel scared me. I don't want to get worse again. I wasn't fine, but it was bearable. I really don't wanna start all over again.”

Lydia listened to his words, her heart breaking in half at his vulnerable voice. It was just the way he had said; he'd always had issues. He didn't know a life without taking pills, talking to a therapist or having any kind of episodes. And Lydia couldn't help but think, that he was way too young to have to worry that much about life.

“Do you think that's about Melissa moving in with you and your dad?” Lydia quietly asked. It was a question everyone had asked themselves in silence. But Stiles was the only one knowing the answer.

He shook his head. “No. It started getting worse even before. It would be easy to blame her, but it's not her fault. I'm just.. I'm sick.” Stiles mumbled the last words. It had taken him quite a while to admit it, to accept it. He still didn't like saying it out loud though.

Lydia didn't answer. She didn't have to. It often helped him to just talk to her, telling her things, he didn't want an answer for.

She let him snuggle deeper into her body, while enjoying the feeling of him against her just as much as he did. Lydia liked those little moments, where nothing but them seemed to exist.

Stiles started kissing along Lydia's shoulder through the shirt she wore, just small innocent pecks up to her neck, where he then nuzzled his face into her hair. Lydia's lips curled up into a smile, as she let her fingertips dance along Stiles' forearm, tracing the thick vain that went over his arm up to his hand.

“You know what?” She asked softly, her smile loud and clear in her voice, which caused Stiles' lips to form into a little smile as well. She always made him feel better.

“Hm?” He asked, while rubbing his nose along the outside of her ear.

“This is the first time, we have the room all by ourselves again.”

Stiles froze at her words for a few seconds, before turning around to look beside his bed. Scott's mattress was empty and of course he had known that before, but it didn't get to his head, what that actually meant. He turned back to Lydia and took her in his arms again.

“And” She started and pushed her hips back to rub her ass against Stiles' crotch, making his breath hitch. “You owe me a round of make up sex.”

“Oh god, Lydia.” He murmured and let his hand slip up the front of her shirt. “I can finally fuck you in my own bed again, you have no idea how happy that makes me.”

Lydia laughed softly, the sound so beautiful, it made Stiles' heart jump. “You love your bed.” She said and let her head fall back against his shoulder as he started placing kisses on her neck again. His lips nibbled harder on her skin than before, using his tongue to sooth the reddening flesh, just as his hand palmed around one of her breasts. He made a confirming humming noise, the sound so low and deep, it made Lydia ache between her legs.

“And you love me.” She said after his answering hum, while letting her hand wander backwards, touching blindly along his thigh until she found her goal. She grabbed his ass, just as he started to whisper his respond into her ear.

“Yeah, I do.” He huskily said and then bit gently into her neck. He pushed his leg up, shoving it in between hers until his thigh nestled right at her heated center. Lydia gasped quietly and reflexively rolled her hips, causing her heat to press against his leg and her ass to wiggle along his cock. He respond by bucking up, letting his slowly hardening dick rub against her backside. “So you and my bed? Best combination ever.” He ended his sentence with a squeeze to her breast.

“No.” Lydia respond with a light shake of her head. “You and me – best combination ever.”

Stiles chuckled at her words, making Lydia feel the vibrations of his laugh against her back. He agreed with a kiss to her temple – a gentle gesture, where no words were needed.

Slowly, Stiles let his hand skim down from her breast to her hip again. He tickled the skin there softly with his fingertips, before grabbing the hem of her shirt to pull it up her body. She obliged immediately, bending upwards, so he could pull the fabric over her head with little struggle.

After the shirt landed somewhere on the floor, Stiles' hand found its way back to her breast again. Lydia turned her upper body around, giving her boyfriend more access, but let her legs still tangled with his, so she could keep rubbing herself against his thigh.

Stiles followed her easily, bending in her direction, while mouthing kisses from her shoulder down to her front. He put little love bites along her collarbone and let his hand work gently on her breast by circling his thumb around her nipple.

Lydia's arm wound around Stiles' shoulders as he wandered down with his mouth between her breasts. She tugged at his hair, firm enough for him to look up and give her big grin from his place by her boobs.

“Please, get that off.” She sighed.

“Get you off?”

“The freaking shirt, Stiles.. but yeah, me too.”

Stiles huffed a little laugh through his nose, making himself even more lovable. She loved his cute little chuckles, the dimples showing at the corner of his mouth. In moments like that, she forgot how broken he sometimes seemed to be.

With his hands placed on either side of Lydia's head, Stiles pushed himself up to his knees. He made a grab for his shirt and pulled it slowly up his body and then over his head, meaning to tease his girlfriend by dragging this out, which failed, as soon as his nose got stuck on the neckline of his shirt. He huffed irritated and fought the shirt off his head, and as soon as he got sight on Lydia again, he saw her hand over her own mouth, trying to muffle her laugh.

He rolled his eyes in false annoyance, while bending down again to lay himself flat on top of Lydia. “Trying to be sexy just once.” He mumbled into her cheek, making her giggle even more. He rose his head to look at her, before circling his fingers around her wrist and pulling her hand from her mouth. “Hey, at least lemme hear that pretty laugh of yours.”

“You _are_ sexy.. sometimes.” She joked with a grin on her face.

“Yeah, I know. You told me yesterday how sexy and hot I am, while giving me a hickey in front of a stranger and Scott.”

Lydia whined - only now noticing the little red mark on his neck - and tried to hide her face behind her hands, but Stiles stopped her from doing so. “God, that's so embarrassing.”

“At least he knows you're mine. You know how turned on I get with all that possesive shit.” Stiles mumbled and then pressed his lips against hers. Lydia sighed happily into the kiss and let herself go, giving the lead over to Stiles, so she could relax and enjoy.

She pressed her hips up, meeting his leg again, which was still stuck between hers, while Stiles let one of his hands travel down her body, loving every inch of her soft skin and round female curves. She was so small and delicate underneath him, it left him wanting her even more.

He skimmed his hand along the edge of her panties, drawing light patterns with his fore- and middle finger and then finally slipping his hand underneath the fabric. His palm cupped her shaved skin as his fingers found their way to her swollen clit. He gave it a few dry strokes, before wandering lower. He dipped two fingertips between her folds and inside her heat, gathering the little wetness, that was already there. He then moved up again and started massaging her delicious little bundle of nerves.

Lydia breathed loudly into his mouth, loving every bit of attention he gave to her, while his tongue stroked along her plush lips. She let him invade her mouth, their tongues rolling together in a dance.

She slid her hands down his torso, exploring every inch of his upper body, before hooking both her forefingers on the edge of his boxers. She kept her fingers there, sliding them teasingly along the waistband without going any further.

A low rumble came from Stiles chest at Lydia's semi-touching. He bit down on her bottom lip and stopped his fingers from circling around her swollen bundle, so he could take one of her hands in his own.

“Stop teasing.” He mumbled against her lips and then placed her hand right over the bulge in his boxers. She grinned up to him, while tightening her hold on him, causing him to let out a grunt and nod in encouragement. “Yeah, that's.. way better.”

“No, I think _this_ ” She started and moved her hand up to slip it inside his boxers, grabbing him in her small fist and letting her thumb roll along the head of his cock. “is way better.” She finished her sentence and then started kissing along his cheek, taking every single mole with her until she reached his ear.

Stiles let out a confirming hum, his voice pitching up high, as Lydia's hand began to move up and down his hard dick. “So much better.” He babbled along and let his head fall forward into the pillow, while Lydia nibbled at his jaw and jerked his cock with just the right amount of pressure. “Have you any idea how bad I wanna be inside you right now?” He continued, his voice muffled by the pillow, but Lydia could hear him as clear as ever. “Shit, the last time feels like an eternity.”

“Since Scott moved into your room.” She quietly said and moved her free hand into his hair, combing the thick strands between her fingers.

“Lydia, don't say his name, while your hand's on my dick.”

A wicked grin plastered itself on Lydia's face. She tightened her hold on his cock, sliding her palm against his rigid flesh, while hooking one of her legs around his hips. “What name? You mean _Scott_?” She asked innocently, but not without moaning Scott's name into Stiles' ear.

His head whipped up and he glared at her, a cocky grin on Lydia's face greeting him. He put a hand over her mouth and shook his head. “Please, just shut the fuck up and let me fuck you.”

Her smirk stayed on her lips behind his hand, as she darted her tongue out to lick along the inside of his palm. He took his hand away and instead pushed his mouth against hers in a passionate kiss. His fingers found the waistband of her panties and he dragged them down as far as he could. Lydia stopped her stroking and did the same with his boxers, and together they wiggled out of the last fabric, that was separating them.

Stiles wasted no time to nestle himself between his girlfriend's legs, his dick sliding along her wet flesh and the feeling of it made him even more desperate. But before he could go any further, Lydia broke their kiss by placing both her hands against his cheeks and pulling his head back so she could look at him.

“You promised me something.”

He swallowed at the sound of her rough voice, he didn't know how to answer. His eyes wandered around her face, looking at her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips, her green eyes, her little nose. Stiles tried to remember, what he promised her, but other than not trying to kill himself again, there was nothing else he could think of. Just as he wanted to ask, what she meant, her lips formed into a smile.

“You promised me” She began and leaned forward to put a little peck on his lips. “Next time we fuck, you'd do me from behind.” Stiles shuddered, the air around them heavy with desire, as he moaned a quiet 'fuck!', remembering his promise to her back then when they had had phone sex.

He found his way to her lips a last time, kissing her wetly and passionately and so deeply, Lydia felt dizzy from it.

“Turn around.” He said, his voice hoarse from pleasure. And god damn, Lydia loved that voice, it made her feel so weak. Without any hesitation, she turned on her stomach and spread her legs for Stiles again.

Stiles, who'd held himself up on his hands to give Lydia room to move, let himself sink down on her body again just like before, only that now, his chest met her back and his dick her ass. He fit perfectly between her legs, they always fit – not just physically. Stiles nudged her messy bun with nose, before trailing down her neck, where he instantly latched his lips on her skin.

His right hand glided down her side, over her ribs, her waist and stopped at her hip. He took his stiff cock into his hand and guided himself between her neither lips. He lubed his tip up with her juices and then finally placed his dick on her hole. A little growl rumbled in his chest, as he pushed his hips forward and sunk inside her – inch for glorious inch. Lydia's answering moan ringed beautifully in his ears.

He bottomed out with his hips flat against her ass and she was so tight like this and so warm and comforting and Stiles wanted to stay there forever. It didn't matter, how often they'd already fucked, he'd never get tired of the things she made him feel, while they were as close as they physically could be. He wanted to drown in her scent and sounds.

Stiles held himself still for a moment, giving Lydia the time to adjust, while he mouthed on her neck and floated in his heavy feelings for the girl right underneath him. When she started rolling her ass against him, he hummed happily into her neck, before mirroring her movements. Pressing himself gently against her, while his lips stopped their kisses to breathe steadily next to her ear.

Lydia reached her hand out and gripped the first pillow, that came to her hand. It was Stiles' favorite one and it smelled so much like him, she didn't even consider taking another one. She pushed it beneath her head and circled her arms around it, her nose pressed into the cushion, just like his one in her hair, both taking in each others scents.

Stiles kept himself above her with one arm, while his other hand curled around her hip. He pulled his cock out of her halfway and then pushed back in, repeating his movements again and again until he found a slow and steady rhythm. His thrusts lazy at first, seeking her wet heat in controlled drives. Lydia clenched her inner walls around him, making her channel tighter to feel every bit of his length brushing inside her.

Their breaths got louder, increasing with their want and desperate need to make the other feel _more_. Stiles kept his rhythm slow, but therefore changed the force behind his thrusts. He took his time drawing out of her and pushed back in with a hard slam of his hips. Lydia arched her back beautifully beneath him and he watched her body curve in pleasure and he just couldn't get enough of it.

When Lydia moaned his name into the pillow, his grip on her hip tightened. He wanted to go faster, but at the same time, wanted to keep the lazy movements, not quite ready to break the gentle and loving mood yet.

Lydia though, couldn't bear his teasing thrusts anymore. She needed more.

“Go faster, Stiles, please.” She said over a sigh and wiggled her ass a little in need. Stiles couldn't stop his smirk, a begging Lydia was always a major turn on.

“A little faster?” He asked, while increasing his pace only a tiny bit, in no way enough, what Lydia actually wanted.

“Yes.” She nodded her head eagerly.

“Want me to go harder as well?” He asked again and snapped his hips forward, making Lydia moan into the pillow at the sudden harder invasion.

“Dammit, yeah.” She huffed out in a breath. Stiles purred in respond, circling himself inside her in gentle movements for a few seconds longer, before then drawing completely out of her. Lydia couldn't even form a complain at the loss, because Stiles' hand wandered from her hip to her ass, squeezing one cheek firmly and causing Lydia to swallow down her pleasure.

“Then get your ass up for me.” He told her roughly, his voice a low rumble against her ear. Lydia obeyed and scrambled up to her knees, her hands both planted beside the pillow, she was laying on before. Stiles admired the length of her back and bent forward to start kissing it. He started on the small of her back and went upwards with every press of his lips against her smooth skin.

When he reached her head, he gave her a few licks along her neck, while soothing his hands down her body, starting at the side of her breasts and ending on her hips. Stiles sat himself straight on his knees again, before nudging his cock back to the entrance of her hot core. With a thrust, he buried himself all the way inside her again, making Lydia gasp out at the deeper penetration.

Immediately, Stiles began to plunge himself in her wet heat. He set a fast rhythm, his thrusts short, but forcefully, much to Lydia's liking. She moaned happily at the change of pace and started to rock herself back against him, meeting his sharp thrusts again and again. Stiles helped her move along, he grabbed his hands firmer to her hips and pulled her backwards with every push forward.

Lydia's head fell forward, as she panted loudly. With one hand, she searched blindly for the headboard and curled her fingers around it for leverage as soon as she found it, preventing herself from falling forward with each of Stiles' thrusts.

Revealing in the feeling of her tight walls around him, Stiles let his gaze drop, where they were joined. He watched himself pump in and out of her, his dick glistening with her wetness and he moaned deeply at the sight of it.

He let one of his hands travel up her body again, palming her breast shortly, while he bent himself over her back again, before stroking his hand up further. Gently, he curled his fingers around her throat to tilt her head back. She swallowed against his palm, but followed his movements without hesitation. She laid her head back into her neck and then turned to face Stiles. He wasted no time and pressed his lips to hers in a deep kiss.

While his tongue worked passionately in her mouth - his lips caressing hers wantonly, he slowed his thrusts down a bit. It would've been lazy and lovingly, if it weren't for the sharp snap of his hips, every time he plunged back inside her.

Lydia breathed heavily into his mouth, feeling dizzy and loved and taken care of. She enjoyed floating in his gentle dominance. Because she knew, in the exact same moment he broke the kiss and trailed his hand from her throat between her shoulders, so he could push her face first into the mattress, _she knew_ she held his heart – open and bloody and vulnerable – in her hands.

As soon as he had her sprawled out in front of him – her ass up high, and her tits and her face pushed against the cushion of his bed – he held onto her shoulder with one hand, while he strengthened his grip of the other on her hip, holding her motionless. Only so he could then draw his dick out of her stretched hole and pound forward into her again, doing it hard and fast.

He turned rough on her. His fingers buried in her flesh. His cock rammed mercilessly along her walls. He started talking dirty things behind her, growling them into the air. _Take it all. You're such a good girl for me. Love watching you take my dick, taking everything I give to you. Love fucking you. You never get tired of it, baby, are you? So desperate to get me go hard on you._ His hands were so strong on her, his voice sounded rough and hoarse and in control. But Lydia – and that was something both of them knew – was the one, who had all the power. Power over him. She was the one, who could make him feel alive and light and _good_. She was the one, who could destroy him just as easily.

Stiles breath turned ragged. He started to shake, as a desperate moan ripped from his throat. He always got like this, when he lost himself in her. Not quite ready to lose control again, but with every single one of his thrust he pushed himself closer and closer to his release.

He was conflicted. He didn't want that release. He wanted to stay cocooned inside of her forever – all safe and warm. But he couldn't hold it back. It sat right in the pit of his stomach, all the pleasure only waiting for the perfect moment to rip out of him.

“Lydia.” He whispered roughly, his voice desperate again. “I'm gonna- fuck!”

“Do it.” She answered breathlessly into the mattress. “Come for me. Come inside me. I'm yours.”

Her last words did it for him. Stiles came with a groan, he tried to hold it back and it sounded broken and crushed, as his whole body shook. He emptied himself deep within her, wishing he could keep his seed forever inside her, just as his spent cock.

Lydia's legs started to shake as well. His orgasm so intense, she could almost feel it herself. She waited for him to finish, before allowing herself to stretch her legs out and sink back on her stomach. Stiles followed her, not ready to part from her yet.

He stayed inside of her for a little while afterwards. Calming down and enjoying the warmth around him, while Lydia reached behind her and softly stroked her hand through his sweaty hair. His ragged breath ghosting along her neck, his chest pressing heavily against her back. But Lydia didn't mind, she liked Stiles' weight on her, liked feeling his heart beating and breath tickling her skin.

After a while, he started placing butterfly kisses against her shoulder, wandering gently upward until he reached her neck. His tongue darted out, licking a line up her ear. He nibbled softly on her earlobe, his breath loud, but calming right beside her ear.

Slowly, he drew his hips back, slipping out of her comforting heat. With a gentle hand against her side he turned her around. His lips following from her ear to her cheeks. Lydia sucked in a deep breath as she felt Stiles' hand on her side brush down her ribs. His fingertips were rough from years of playing guitar. A nice contrast against her own soft skin.

His hand wandered down to her hip, stroking the outstanding bone with his thumb, before he finally slid his palm along her flat stomach and then down between her legs. His palm curled around her as he let his fingers explore her wetness, lazily playing with his come at her entrance. Lydia gasped softly at the feeling of Stiles' teasing fingertips against her delicate soft flesh.

Stiles mouthed his way from her cheeks down to her chest. His lips found her breast immediately and he dragged his tongue over her hard nipple. He circled it carefully, before finally sucking the rosy bud into his mouth. Lydia's hand rose to his head and she threaded her fingers in the longer strands of his hair.

With a light push, Stiles' let three of his fingers sink into Lydia. She clamped around him deliciously as he slid in deeper, all the way, until his knuckles touched her core. Her hand in his hair tightened and he respond with a bite on her nipple. He curled the fingers in her hole and then pulled them out almost completely in a slow movement, making the tips of his fingers scratch blissfully against her insides. He did it again. And again. And again. Slow and gentle. The exact opposite of how he'd fucked her only minutes ago.

The room filled with her breathing, the wonderful noise of her wetness and Stiles' kisses on her nipple. The sounds alone made his heart beat faster and though he loved music, there was nothing that could compare to Lydia whispering his name, while he devoured her.

He went down further with his mouth, beforehand kissing her other nipple, so it wouldn't feel left out, but then tracing his tongue downward to her bellybutton. He pressed a wet kiss there, then ghosted his lips down to where his hand was working in a way he knew was too slow and too gentle for Lydia.

Her hand slipped from his hair and instead found his free one. He turned it around, so he could intertwining their fingers.

Stiles kissed his way to her thighs, nudging one of them with his nose. Lydia obeyed and spread her legs a little further, so his head fit perfectly between her. He kept stroking the tip of his upturned nose along the soft flesh of her thigh. He stopped, when he heard Lydia calling his name in a breath, but he kept pushing his fingers into her all the while. His eyes found hers, the look on his face so soft and full of love, Lydia choked out a sob.

He parted his lips and bent his head down again to kiss along the stretch marks on the inside of her thigh. Her hand tightened around his, he didn't know if it was in desperation, love or just a respond to his kisses, but he held her hand tighter as well.

His mouth went with wet kisses from her leg to her warm core. He breathed against her clit, making Lydia shudder in anticipation, before he dipped his tongue between her folds. He rubbed his flat tongue against her swollen bundle of nerves in just as slow licks, as his finger's thrusts. Lydia sighed, a high and pleasure filled sound, that went straight to his groin.

Stiles started sucking on her clit a bit harsher, increasing the pace of his fingers as well. Lydia's free hand shot up and she found her fingers in her own hair, pulling lightly on her curls, while her back arched with Stiles' touch.

He liked tasting her. It always woke something animalistic in him, making him hungry for more and sending an ache to his heart in realization, he would never get as much as he wanted.

Lydia moaned for him. A loud noise, that echoed in his ears and Stiles didn't even think about the possibility of his family hearing it as well. He loved hearing Lydia's sounds way too much to care. And with every lick of his tongue against her clit, with every deep push of his fingers inside her hole, he got more of what he wanted to hear so desperately. His name fell from her lips like a prayer - in a whisper, that was only meant for him to hear this time.

He could see her getting closer, could feel it, sense it. Her chest rose quickly with her harsh breathing, she clamped down on his three fingers tighter and tighter, and he did what he could to bring her over the edge.

Stiles moved his hand faster now, the slow rhythm gone, because he knew she needed more. She always did. His fingers started pounding into her, while his teeth clamped down on her clit, holding it between his lips and running the tip of his tongue over the red-swollen button over and over again.

Stiles raised their hands up and he loosened his fingers from hers, laying her palm on his shoulder instead. She always needed something to hold onto, while he wrecked her in the best ways possible. An anchor, so she wouldn't float away too far into her sea of pleasure.

When her nails buried themselves into his shoulder, Stiles used his freed hand to palm one of her breasts. All the while never stopping his ravenous licking or deep thrusts of his fingers. He rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger - gently at first, but he was aware of her desperation, so he didn't tease her longer, instead pinching the bud hard between his fingers. Lydia cried out as Stiles simultaneously pressed his tongue firmer against her clit and flicked his wrist in a way, so his fingers brushed right against the spot inside her, that always made her see stars.

She came moaning and shaking and oh so beautifully. Stiles would never get tired of watching her fall apart. He'd seen it so often, but with every time, she looked even more beautiful, with her full red lips shaped into an o and her thighs, that shook around him. He liked seeing what he'd done to her. Liked the little bite marks and bruises and hickeys. Liked the sweat, that glistered on her soft pale skin, liked her breasts rising up and down with every deep breath. He liked making her look alive.

He still fucked his fingers inside during her orgasm, bringing her through it. He only stopped, when her nails didn't dig themselves into his skin anymore. Stiles pulled his fingers out, slowly, but Lydia twitched at the movement on her now sensitive flesh nonetheless. He kept his tongue on her though. Wandering down to her wet hole, where he dipped his tongue inside, gathering all their mixed juices and swallowing everything down she had to offer.

Lydia's hand tightened on his shoulder again and she let out a sob, before whispering to him, that she was too sensitive for any touch. Stiles only pushed his tongue in deeper, taking one last taste and then drawing back slowly. He gave her a few more kitten licks, while he looked up to meet her gaze. He was instantly drowning in a pool of emerald colored eyes.

Like in trance, he crawled upwards to her, his eyes never leaving hers. And when he finally laid flat on top of her, he bent his head and pressed his lips against her plush ones. His mouth was still wet from him eating her out and Lydia let her tongue dart out to lick over his lips.

"There's still more, if you want, you know." Stiles said teasingly against her lips and broke their silent romantic bubble. He held himself over her with one arm, while raising his other hand between their faces. He wiggled his still wet fingers, that had been inside her only moments ago. And Lydia scrunched up her face, the corners of her mouth falling down.

"You're disgusting." She said.

"You didn't think that, while I ate you out." Stiles respond quickly and then pushed his forefinger between his lips to lick up her tasty liquid. Lydia watched him dazed, she could never successfully deny his argument. But she could try.

"Well firstly, it was _you_ tasting me, not myself licking my own juices." Lydia started and Stiles hummed in respond, while adding his wet middle finger in his mouth, making Lydia swallow. "And secondly, you're already done. Our pleasure filled minds are now clear again, so there's no excuse for you actually _wanting_ to lick up all my juices. Which brings me back to my first comment; you're disgusting."

Stiles grinned down at her with his fingers in his mouth. He pulled them out, only to suck the last wet finger between his lips. He took all the time he wanted, before letting his hand drop down from his mouth and sinking his body fully against hers again.

"Oh yeah, that explains why you so eagerly licked at my lips just moments ago, wanting aaall your juices by yourself. And don't think, I haven't seen the way you looked at me, when I did what I just have done. And we're together for a pretty long time, I definitely know what you look like when you're turned on." Stiles whispered against her mouth and when he was done speaking and he moistened his lips, she could feel his tongue against her lips as well. "Oh and let's not talk about the fact, how you always lick your hand clean, whenever you made me come with a handjob."

This time, when Stiles lips formed into a smirk again, it was full of mischievousness. They both knew, he won this round. Lydia rolled her eyes, because she actually had no idea what to respond. So she grabbed the back of his neck and pushed his lips completely down on hers to hide the fact he just made her speechless.

Stiles knew though, so his grin only got bigger, while he kissed the living hell out of his girlfriend. Tasting their mixed scents together with their tongues in each others mouths. She was breathless - again - after they finally broke apart.

“I need to clean up.” Lydia says after a while, rubbing her thighs together in an attempt of getting rid of the wetness there. She hated the slobbery mess between her thighs after sex.

“Let's shower together and then have breakfast. I'm starving.”

“Well there's still some, if you want.” Lydia whispered huskily, repeating the same words he'd said to her earlier, and spread her legs in front of Stiles, who had sat himself up. His gaze fell between her legs, taking her in, before looking back to his girlfriend.

“Tempting. Maybe for dessert.”

* * *

Their shower together took way longer than needed to, because at some point, while Stiles was scrubbing shampoo into Lydia's hair, he started singing Elvis' song Can't Help Falling In Love (trying to make his voice sound as deep as the one from Elvis and failing miserably). He'd sought out her hands and started dancing with her under the shower spray, making Lydia laugh happily with her head thrown back in her neck. It had been his mother's favorite song and Lydia loved it whenever he sang it to her, weather he sounded earnest and beautiful or silly like now.

So after over half an hour of washing and singing and dancing and kissing, they made it down the stairs. Both their hair still wet and Stiles thought she looked beautiful like that, all fresh and young. And he wanted to kiss her all over again, but behaved himself as soon as they reached the kitchen, where Melissa, Scott and his dad were sitting around the table.

They got greeted with 'good morning's and little smirks, and Lydia blushed deeply, because she knew those amused looks where directed to her. She sighed deeply and let herself fall down on the chair.

She held her head up high, placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her intertwined hands. “Go on, I can take it. I'm Lydia Martin.”

For a moment no one said anything, but it didn't take long for Scott to break into a laughing fit. “You were _so_ drunk. Seriously, I've never thought I'd see you like that, but wow, I have to make sure to never forget that.”

Stiles lips curled up into an amused grin at Lydia's answering huff. He sat beside her and she turned her head towards him, seemingly waiting for him to say anything. “Oh no, I won't save you. Yesterday was hilarious.”

“You know what? I don't need you to win my fight, because I can do it myself. Now screw you, Stilinski.”

“I'd rather screw you.”

“Stiles, no sex jokes at the dining table.” The Sheriff threw in, sounding nonchalant.

“That wasn't a joke.”

“Stiles.”

“Sorry.”

They had breakfast together. Scott was kind enough to let his teasing comments drop, much to Lydia's surprise and Melissa – being the mom she was – made sure, she was feeling okay. Lydia grew to like the new dynamics at her boyfriend's house pretty quickly and she wished Stiles could see how well Melissa and Scott fit in their life. They both cared so much, they were good people. And the Stilinskis needed some good in their life.

Lydia looked over to Stiles. He was wolfing down his breakfast and licked some blueberry jam off of his finger, just as he had done with her juices earlier. He looked kinda content, but maybe it was just the food, that finally filled his stomach or the sex they'd had this morning. She knew it wouldn't last though. She was yet to find a cure for his broken soul, that would last for the rest of his life.

Breakfast had always been one of the Sheriff's favorite meals. He liked to start his day lazy with coffee and pancakes, and chatting with his son whenever the got the chance to it. And ever since Melissa and Scott moved in with them, he'd grown to like mornings even more. Waking up beside Melissa every day grounded him. His heart fluttered, whenever he looked into her sleepy face and Noah had never thought to feel so in love again after Claudia.

But Melissa brightened his life in colors, he long forgot existed.

After breakfast, they all cleaned the kitchen together. For Scott and Stiles, it still felt strange to move around the kitchen with so many other people around, both of them used to only one of their parents.

The teenagers had decided to do something together instead of hanging inside the house again, so when they were done cleaning up, Lydia and Stiles went upstairs again to dress and make themselves ready for the day.

Upstairs, Lydia sighed and let herself fall down on Stiles' bed. She took her phone off the nightstand and unlocked it. The 'Notes' app popped up, showing the message Danny had written for her. It said, she should call him as soon as she felt like it, because he really wanted to make sure, she was safe. “Wow, well, I guess I should call Danny.”

“You got his number?” Stiles asked surprised and eyed her from where he was standing. He felt his heart beat faster against his chest, his throat suddenly dry and a cold shiver creeping up his spine. The familiar feeling of weariness blooming inside him.

“Yeah, he wrote it in my notes and said I should call him, so he'd known I'm fine.” She answered absently, while rereading the message for the third time.

“Of course he did.” Stiles mumbled.

Lydia shot him a look over her phone and sat up.

“Stiles, don't make a big deal out of it.”

Stiles hated it, whenever she said that. Especially when he didn't even had started to make a deal out of it yet. He walked up in front of Lydia, considering what to say next. He really didn't want Lydia to call that guy. But he knew as well, she wouldn't give up that easily.

“Let me call him.” He suggested.

Lydia scoffed. “What? No.”

“Why?”

She sighed again and placed a hand on his stomach, right above his plaid pajama pants he'd shrugged on after their shower. Then she started to stroke his skin through his shirt, hoping to calm him with her touch. “Because he took care of  _me_ last night.” She answered after a few moments of silence.

Stiles looked down at Lydia. Her eyes held a soft expression and it killed him to know, he would be the reason the look would vanish as soon as he spoke up again. He did it anyway. “Yeah, of _my_ girlfriend.”

“I'm not discussing this. I'm gonna call him.” And just as Stiles had assumed, the look on Lydia's face changed from understanding to determined. She let her hand drop and took her phone back instead.

“Let me.”

“I said no.” Her voice raised slightly, just a tiny bit, so he'd known she was serious about it. Stiles was jealous as hell, she knew that, but she wouldn't back down now. Danny had been so nice to her last night, she couldn't just ignore that, because of Stiles' issues.

“I don't want you to call him.” Stiles insisted firmly, his voice a tone harder than before as well. Showing her, he was just as serious about it as she was. They'd just made up from a fight. And he really didn't want to start another, but he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in his stomach either.

Lydia shot him an angry look. “Stiles, stop thinking with your possessive dick for once and let me thank that guy.” She hadn't intended to say it that harsh. Stiles always did that to her. He brought all her passion through surface – in a positive and negative way.

“Wow, for real?”

She ignored his answer and instead turned her gaze down to her phone again. She was naive enough to think, that _maybe_ if she just ignored his temper, it would go away. She copied Danny's number, Stiles looming over her all the while, and saved it to her contacts. And just as she wanted to press the call button, Stiles' hand made a grab for her phone and took it out of her hands.

Lydia blinked in shook, her hand still in the same position as before, as if she would still hold the phone in her palm. They had had a few fights because of his jealousy before, but something like that actually had never happened. Stiles always had respected her privacy and – much more important – her decisions.

She rose her head to meet his gaze, but he avoided looking into her eyes. Lydia took a deep breath. “What the actual fuck was that, Stiles?” She saw him swallowing, while keeping his head low. Some part of her felt guilty for making him look that way, all small and broken, but the other part – the bigger part, was furious as hell and she tried her best to keep her emotions down. “Give me my phone back.”

“I told you, I don't want you to call him.” Stiles said quietly, almost sounding, as if he was talking to himself, but Lydia knew it was meant for her.

“And I told you, I'm doing it anyway.” She answered in a stern voice.

Stiles sighed loudly and threw his arms over his head in frustration. He started pacing in front of her, his fingers drumming anxiously against her phone. It felt so heavy in his hand. “Why? Can't you just.. text him you're fine and then delete his number?”

Lydia let out a fake laugh and got up from her position on the bed. She was so much smaller than him, barely reaching his shoulder without her heels on, but in this moment – her face twisted in anger, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths – she seemed so tall, she could crush him in an instant.

“Yeah, I could” She started, her voice low. “but I'm not doing it.”

“Because you like him.”

“Yes, because I like him. He's a nice guy and after all he's done for me, he deserves a respond.”

She didn't get it. She would never understand. He didn't blame her though. How could she ever know? She was Lydia Martin. She was beautiful and smart and she had the whole world at her feet. She was strong and independent. She was fucking magical. She couldn't know how it felt like to constantly live in the fear of losing someone just because you weren't good enough. She couldn't know the bad feeling he got, whenever other guys looked her up at a party, fearing that _maybe_ one of them got her attention. She could never know those things, because maybe she loved him, but for him, she was his whole fucking world.

No, he didn't blame her for not knowing what anxiety felt like. But in that moment, he couldn't help but feel frustrated because of it.

“I can't believe you.” He muttered his respond, sounding and feeling tired all over again.

“ _I_ can't believe _you_! Why are you making such a big deal out of it.” Lydia's voice raised and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. There was a lot of rage fitting into her tiny body.

“You know why!”

“Just because you're jealous, I'm not allowed to make new friends? Well, sorry, but differently than you and Isaac I like to get to know new people.”

“Like you did when we were thirteen?” Stiles asked, his face now almost nonchalant looking.

Lydia took a few steps backwards. His words were like a slap to her face. “Fuck you, Stiles.”

Stiles didn't intend stopping. He knew what he was doing. He was looking for one of her weak spots, so he wouldn't be the only one feeling vulnerable. He was a fuck up.

“Is that it? You're tired of us again, so you go and make new friends and dump us?”

“How dare you to say things like that to me? I made a massive mistake back then, I shouldn't have turned my back on all of you, but I know better now and you forgave me, so don't you dare and hold that against me.” Lydia's voice got louder with every word she was saying. Tears sprung to her eyes out of rage.

That was one hell of a sensitive topic for her and Stiles knew it. She'd turned her back on them back in the days. She'd felt like they'd still been kids and she'd grown up without them So she found other 'friends', she now knew, were nothing worth. Had started drinking alcohol for the first time, covered her face in make up and pretended to be an adult. She had been the actual kid back then, not them.

She had only been one year apart from Allison, Kira, Isaac and Stiles, making memories without them, she wished she could forget now. But one year had been enough time to break their trust. It took them long to get their friendship back again as it used to be, but at some point, she had managed to gain their trust back and wouldn't dare to do anything to lose it again. The others knew that. That's why they had never mentioned that one year ever again – at least not in the way Stiles just had.

“You're driving me insane.” He said, because he knew she was right, but he was too proud to say it out loud.

“No, you're driving yourself insane, your own twisted mind drives you insane.”

“Whatever.” He said and let her phone drop back on the bed. He rubbed both his hands over his face, closing his eyes for a while and trying to get rid of the upcoming headache.

Lydia took the phone back. She pressed the button and her lock screen lit up. It was a picture of Stiles. She had taken it a few month ago spontaneously.

It had been one of the moments, she'd been struck by his beauty. He'd just looked that good, she hadn't been able to take her eyes off of him. So she'd snapped a photo of him, mid talking and looking all adorable, she couldn't stop herself from setting the picture as her lock screen right away.

She wanted to smile at the memory, but didn't feel like it. Not while fighting with the exact same guy, she admired that much. Lydia unlocked her phone, trying her best to hold back a sigh. Her thumb hovered over the call button, but before she pressed it, she looked up to him.

“What?”

“Maybe some privacy?” Her voice was softer now.

“Seriously? You want me to leave?” His though, sounded angry now.

“Yes. I want to talk to Danny without having you lurking over me.”

“Uhu, yeah, I get it. Greet him for me.” Stiles huffed out and made his way over to the door. He didn't know how he felt. There were so many emotions, he couldn't decide on one. He was angry with himself, sad, felt humiliated. He wanted to reverse time to this morning, where they had still been in bed, fucking her with his fingers until she came and then just stay in bed forever to avoid this stupid fight.

“Stiles.” Lydia called softly, trying to stop him from going, even though she had exactly wanted that only seconds ago.

“I don't care Lydia.”

“Danny's gay.”

Stiles stopped in his tracks. For a moment it felt like the world stopped rotating. _Danny's gay._ He wouldn't take Lydia away from him. He hadn't felt attracted to her last night. He hadn't looked at her in that short dress, drooling all over himself. Stiles knew that should make him feel better. But somewhat, that was even worse.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He roared and turned around to throw a furious look at his girlfriend.

Lydia startled. She hadn't expected such a reaction, but she remained her calm. “No.” She answered simply.

“Is this a game to you?”

“What? What are you talking about?” Lydia asked in confusion. Stiles had never been a game to her. He was the only one, she wasn't fooling, the only one, she was honest with.

“You could have told me he's gay right at the beginning. Why did you watch me get all worked up over nothing?”

Lydia pointed at him and raised her brows. “Over nothing, exactly. You go all mad at me for worrying over you – and I actually have a reason for that – and I can't even make an innocent phone call without you trying to rip my head off. Maybe you should think about who's really at fault here.”

Stiles shook his head, speechless. Now he was the one, who felt like he got slapped. “You think I want to be like that? A paranoid little shit? Yeah? I tell you something, if I shouldn't hold your past against you, you shouldn't hold my fucking personality against me! I told you right at the beginning, we were only fifteen, I told you then and there, what baggage would come in a relationship with me. And you fucking said it didn't matter to you. Fucking behave like you mean it.”

“Stiles..” Lydia started as the guilt raised within her. He was right. She knew what she had been getting into right from the start. She knew, he was damaged goods. And she always tried to help him along, which wasn't easy at all. But that was no excuse for holding something against him he wanted to change for himself so badly.

Stiles looked at her a second longer, before turning again to leave the room. He threw the door open and stomped down the stairs with quick steps. He wanted to get away from her. That rarely happened. Usually Lydia was the answer for everything.

“Stiles!” Lydia called again. She threw her phone back onto the bed covers, before running after him. “Dammit, wait!” She cried out as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Stiles stood next to the door, angrily slipping into an old pair of converse. She went up next to him and placed a hand to his shoulder.

“Stiles, please-” She started for the third time, but Stiles head whipped up and the look on his face caused her to stop talking immediately.

He straightened himself again, after tying his shoes. “Fuck you, Lydia. Call Danny, tell him you're fine.” He snarled into her face.

Stiles loud voice drew attention to them and a startled looking Stilinski-McCall Family popped their heads out from the kitchen.

“I'm not fine anymore..” Lydia told Stiles in a small voice, not even aware of the audience they just got.

“Well, then tell him whatever you want.” Stiles answered, his face still showing his anger, but he somehow looked more exhausted than anything else.

He turned to leave, but Lydia stopped him again with a hand to his forearm. He ripped his arm away from her without knowing it shattered her heart into pieces. Stiles always respond to touch. He usually love the feeling of her soft skin against his. He had never refused her touch that way. And it hurt.

“Fucking asshole!” Lydia screamed at him and started to land punches on his body – everywhere she could reach. Fighting with Stiles was like riding a roller coaster. Her feelings constantly changed and normally she hated it, but now she was actually grateful she could replace her guilt with anger.

“Why are you treating me that way now, huh? Are you trying to hurt me on purpose? You do, don't you? You try to make me angry, so I'm doing you the favor and get away from you myself.” Lydia started ranting. She stopped her ridiculous punching, but emphasized her words with a shove against his chest every now and then. “Because you're fucking afraid! You hate to be together with me, because you hate that fucking feeling, whenever you get anxious. You can't stand it anymore and you want to get rid of that feeling so desperately, you trying to push me away from you.”

Stiles didn't say anything. At first he looked surprised at her quick change of emotions, but after that he had a void expression on his face. Because she was right.

“You're so afraid of losing me, you want to destroy what we have by yourself, so I don't just get ripped away from you like your mother.” Stiles face twisted in pain at her words, but she didn't stop. “But I tell you something. You won't be able to do that. You can insult me and hurt me all you want, but I won't go away. So if you're fucking afraid, if you fucking want to get rid of me, then fucking do it yourself and don't wait for me to walk away, because I'll stay with you.”

Lydia ended her speech and was breathless afterwards – the swearing definitely a habit she got from Stiles. She knew she was right though. She had known it before, but the look on his face told her the truth. He was so afraid of losing her, he would rather be the cause of it, than waiting until something might happen.

It was silent around them. Stiles didn't know what to say and Lydia had already said everything. The sound of someone clearing his throat filled the silence and Lydia turned around to see the Sheriff walking out of the kitchen door. Melissa and Scott following closely.

“How about..” Noah started carefully, almost waiting for Stiles to interrupt him. He didn't. “How about you and Scott take a walk together, kiddo? And Lydia” He placed his hands on her shoulders, while saying her name softly. His hands felt warm and comforting. “stays with us for the time.”

Scott jumped right to action, before Stiles could even respond. He walked up beside his stepbrother and pulled his shoes on. He waited for him to say or do something, but all Stiles did was stare at his girlfriend. His face didn't give away his thoughts, an uneasy feeling settling in Lydia's belly in return. She was so used to reading Stiles, it felt strange not knowing what he thought. Scott slipped his fingers slowly around Stiles' biceps, testing if he was permitted to touch. When Stiles didn't react, he pulled him gently backwards. Stiles followed with a stumble and both of them disappeared through the front door.

Lydia stayed behind, not really knowing what to do with herself. She felt numb and full of emotions at the same time.

She ended up crying, curled up on the sofa with Noah's arms around her and Melissa in the kitchen, making her a cup of hot chocolate.

Scott and Stiles walked side by side along the neighborhood, heading in no special direction. Neither of them said anything, both not knowing what to say, but actually there wasn't really anything to say in the first place.

It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable though. Scott had gotten quite used to Stiles' reservedness and Stiles had finally accepted Scott as somewhat to a friend. Though he still tried his best to not get too close to Scott. Love was toxic for Stiles. He didn't want to have the same fight, he'd just had with Lydia with Scott as well. So he build his walls up higher, but kept little gaps in between, showing only what he wanted other people to see.

They ended up at the Beacon Hills' playground, where Stiles said something for the first time again since he had yelled at Lydia. He told Scott, he'd met Allison and Lydia in the sandbox at the age of three for the first time. His ADHD had been so bad and he'd been running carelessly around the playground until he fell over his own feet and landed right into Lydia's sand castle. She had started crying immediately and Allison had hit him with her tiny sandbox shovel, while he'd been rambling an apology until he then had started crying, too.

Scott laughed silently along and asked, how they had gotten friends like that and Stiles told him about how his dad had been friends with Natalie and Chris as teenagers, but they kinda lost contact after high school until Stiles had stumbled into Lydia. And when the parents had been looking after their crying kids, they recognized each other immediately and stayed in contact after that. Garden parties and birthdays and many other occasions to meet up had followed and that's how the Argents, Martins and Stilinskis got closer and closer. A few years later a young Kira and a beaten up Isaac had joined their little group.

Scott listened to everything Stiles told him about his childhood. He had wondered how the group had met, but had never actually asked. Scott thought, it was cool, that Stiles let him be a part of his memories and shared some of his own. He told Stiles, that it always had been hard for him to make friends because of his asthma. He had never managed to keep up with the other kids without struggling for breath. Stiles asked in return, if his disease had gotten better, because he couldn't remember Scott using an inhaler at some point and he was on the lacrosse team after all. Scott confirmed, but told him, he still had an inhaler in his locker in school just in case.

The boys spent some time more on the playground, Stiles sitting on top of a slide and Scott at the bottom. They shared some more childhood stories and Scott couldn't help but notice how Stiles seemed genuinely interested in getting to know him better. He didn't say anything about it though.

They stayed over an hour at the same place, before deciding to start walking again. Stiles was grateful, Scott didn't mention the fight. He was actually the perfect guy to hang out with after having a drama scene. Scott was so positive and all smiley, Stiles secretly searched for the sun shining out of Scott's ass. He didn't find it yet, but Stiles was sure it was there. Scott was good at keeping quiet, too. It was like he just fell in whatever mood Stiles needed him to be.

After about two hours of waking and talking and keeping quiet and just having each other's company, they found their way back home again. The teenagers went inside and Stiles got hit by silence. It made him feel uneasy, which sucked pretty badly after his walk with Scott, where he had nothing to think or feel about.

Both of them walked further into the house and to the living room, where they then found everyone sitting on the couch, except that there was one person more in the circle.

Stiles mouth gaped open as he starred at the man in the wheelchair in front of him. His brain working and working, but he couldn't find any answers to his thousand questions in his head. So he simply decided to ask.

"What the fuck is _he_ doing here?!"

Noah watched his son with a sigh. He wasn't ready for that either.

Scott switched his gaze from the man in the wheelchair to Noah and then back to Stiles. He leaned forward and asked in a whisper: "Who's that?" He said it quietly, but the room was thick with silence, the others heard his question as well.

"The devil himself." Stiles answered nonchalantly, while looking his grandfather in the eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPECIAL THANKS to Isabella, Mae and KailaniAce – I can't say anything else than thank you for all your support. It means so much to me, I wish I could express my feelings better, but I suck. Also a quick thanks to xnathiagrey, who wrote me a lovely review on FF.  
> I'm gonna be on vacation, so I won't be able to write for like 3 weeks(?). I try to write whenever I can on my phone, but I guess the next update will take me even longer. I know I always let you wait for another chapter, but I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear. To quote Twenty One Pilots “I do not have writers block, my writer just hates the clock.”  
> Little fun fact: Lydia's lock screen is actually mine  
> Thanks for reading <3  
> PS: I really wanna see a drawing of Stiles as a South Park character now & like Lydia and Stiles dancing in the shower together  
> 


	8. Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone insulted the Stydia fics here on AO3, mine was included. That's why it took me so fucking long to get the chapter done. I can take criticism, but that was far from helpful nice words. I feel insecure about every word I wrote down and I really don't want anyone to read this chapter, but (and here comes the SPECIAL THANKS) I re-read KailaniAce's and Mae's comments of the last chapter over and over again, and that's what kept me motivated. Thanks <3
> 
> Song: Bishop Briggs – Dark Side

Noah had been five years old, when he heard his mommy scream in pain downstairs for the first time. He had run to her as fast as he could and when he'd reached her, he found her on the kitchen floor. She'd been clutching her side with one hand, her face twisted in pain, but as soon as she'd seen little Noah standing in the doorway, she'd managed a small smile for her boy, assuring him she was perfectly fine. Later that day, Noah's uncle - mommy's brother - had brought her to the hospital, the doctor finding three broken ribs and mommy saying 'silly me, slipping on the kitchen floor'.

Noah had been six years old, when he found out, that mommy hadn't been silly and hadn't slipped on the floor. Noah had played outside too long and had forgotten the time, and when he came home too late, his daddy had been really mad at him. He'd grabbed him roughly by the arm and shoved him through the basement door. Noah had stumbled over his own feet and fell down the stairs. He'd sat down there on the cold ground, darkness surrounding him, while crying the whole night for his mommy and daddy, a broken arm pressed to his chest.

Noah had been fifteen, when his dad had gone after his mom again, and Noah stepped in between, not bearing to watch his mother get hurt again. He'd gotten one punch to his father's face, before his dad shoved him by the side and he landed in a glass coffee table; sharp shards sticking into his shoulder, while he watched his mom getting hurt right after.

Noah had just turned eighteen, when his mom told him, she couldn't live like that anymore.

Noah had graduated high school and left home for the army right after that.

Noah had come back home to go to college, discovering his mom had left as soon as he was gone. That had been the first time, he had a smile on his face, while standing in his old home.

In college, Noah had met Claudia and he'd fallen for her in an instant. Only after three months of dating her, he'd gotten to meet her father; a patient kind man, who loved his family wholeheartedly. Noah had been awestruck and saw him as his idol since then. He'd been the father he'd always wanted and one he wanted to be himself.

Close to graduation, Noah had laid in bed with Claudia and he'd told her, if they ever had a kid and it'd be a boy, he wanted to name him after her father. Beautiful laughter had filled his ears after his confession.

Noah had been thirty-three, when Claudia gave birth to Mieczyslaw Stilinski.

Fourteen years later Claudia had died.

And a year after that, Noah's father got sick and needed hospitalization. Noah paid for the assisted living facility, knowing Claudia's father would have done the same.

But surely, Noah never had thought to have to see his father ever again, never mind in his own home.

Though now, Elias Stilinski slept only a few doors down the hallway from where Noah was laying in bed - wide awake every night since Elias arrived at their home.

The facility, Elias usually stayed in, had called Noah on his phone, while Scott and Stiles had been on their walk through the streets. They'd said one of the patients had accidentally started a fire in one of their buildings - the one Elias lived in. Therefore everyone in there got evacuated and taken to their family as far as there still was one. Noah had been in such a shock, that he didn't even realize he'd said yes to letting Elias live with him for an unknown amount of time.

Not even half an hour later Noah's father had arrived; looking fragile and weak in his wheelchair, but Noah knew better. Physical strength wasn't needed to hurt people.

The first thing Stiles had directly said to his grandfather was 'who the fuck let you out of hell?' and Scott, who thought Elias was an innocent old man, had been shocked at the older man's answer. _Who let you out of the nuthouse?_ He had asked in return, showing just how much empathy he had left for his son and grandson.

Noah, who had Scott's room almost done, asked his stepson, if it was okay with him, if Elias got the room for the time he'd be with them. Scott agreed of course - not because of Elias, but he didn't want to cause any more trouble for Noah.

So Scott and Stiles kept sharing a room and one night, Scott asked why everyone hated Elias so much - except for his rudeness - and Stiles told him everything his dad had told him once about his terrible childhood. Scott wasn't one to judge people, he was always looking for the good things, and even though Elias was sick and old, he couldn't bring himself to start looking for something good this time.

Melissa had been pretty quiet over the whole incident. She knew Noah's story as well and never could she imagine the amount of pain - emotionally and physically - he had to go through. It was hard for her to watch the man she loved suffer all over again.

With Stiles seemingly getting worse with every passing night – nightmares hunting him down and Lydia not sleeping over – and Elias right on the opposite door, Noah felt drained, tired and restless. He was a grown man now, not the poor kid his father used to beat up, and still Noah felt small and unsure in Elias' presence. That's why he tried his very best to stay away from him and spent as little time as possible with him.

The first two days, he took care of his father himself, whenever he had the time to. He got his food done, gave him his medication and washed him. Melissa had offered to help, but Noah didn't want to let her alone with Elias. He was rude and hurtful, especially towards people Noah loved. But after two sleepless nights and not only taking care of his father during the days, but of his son in the nights as well, Melissa had had enough and didn't accept a 'no' anymore. She couldn't do much against Noah's pain, but at least she could make sure he had a burden less to carry.

It was the sixth day now Elias stayed with them and Melissa was upstairs in the bathroom with him. He sat in the bathtub, bubbles covering his naked body as she helped him washed himself with a soft washcloth. They worked up somewhat of a routine, but duo to Elias' dementia, they often had to tell him the same things over and over again, just as they got to hear the same things from him again and again.

This time was no different. The Sheriff, Scott and Stiles still sat downstairs in the kitchen after breakfast, as they heard Elias yell. “Stop touching me there, woman!” Noah sighed into his cup of coffee and took a sip of the brownish liquid, before pinching the bridge of his nose. “Noah, that woman is touching me on my thighs! Make her stop!”

Stiles eyed his father from his place at the table, but didn't say anything. He could see how much his dad suffered from the new events, but he didn't know how to help him. He guessed, that's the way his dad always felt towards him; seeing him having panic attacks and nightmares, and not knowing what to do about it. He found a new kind of respect for his father handling him the way he did.

“Useless son.. is there anything you can do?!” They heard Elias yell again. “Not even helping his own father, ungrateful little-” It went silent and all of them guessed Melissa must have done something to get him to shut up, because neither of them heard him say anything anymore until Melissa was done washing him and helped him walking down the stairs, where she then sat him into his wheelchair. He didn't always need it, but he'd often gotten quickly exhausted when walking around to much, so they always let him sit in the wheelchair now.

Stiles saw their appearance as his cue to stand up from the table to make his way to school. Scott joined him on his way to the hallway, where they put their shoes on.

“School won't help you much, I tell you.” Elias said as Stiles had passed him at the kitchen door. “You gonna end up just like your father anyway.” He added and almost sounded disgusted.

Stiles didn't even see the need to turn around, while he tied his shoes. “I hope so.” Was all he answered, before grabbing his keys and backpack, yelling a goodbye and then leaving through the front door, letting it open for Scott to follow.

The teenagers drove together in Stiles' Jeep. Now that they were somewhat closer (and Stiles actually accepted Scott in his presence), they shared a ride more often. Stiles liked and simultaneously hated his relationship with Scott. He knew from the beginning, Scott would find a way to make Stiles care about him, which was the exact reason, he'd constantly pushed him away.

His last fight with Lydia showed just how hard it was for Stiles to have a normal relationship with people, because he always would be the one who cared more. That's why he avoided getting to know people as best as he could. But goddamn Scott and his stupid friendly puppy face and his fucking kindness.

Stiles wanted to punch Scott for making him care about him.

At school their ways parted. Scott walked over to his own locker, intending to meet Allison afterwards. Stiles skipped the first part and instantly made his way over to Lydia's locker. She was standing in front of it and just took out the last book she needed, as Stiles arrived.

“Hey.” He said and she turned around.

Stiles put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her towards him to meet her plush lips for a kiss. For everyone around them, it would look like everything was perfectly fine. But they both could still feel the tension between them.

They hadn't talked about what had happened. There wasn't really time to and both of them avoided the topic constantly as well (Stiles, because he knew everything Lydia had said was true; and Lydia, because she felt guilty), even though they knew, they needed to talk about it eventually.

“Hey.” She replied, closing her locker simultaneously after their kiss.

They started walking beside each other down the hallway to get to their first class. And even though their fight still stuck heavily between them, Stiles couldn't help but think about how natural it felt to walk with Lydia along those gossiping hallways of the school no matter what.

"How are things with your grandpa?" Lydia asked, while adjusting the books in her hands. Stiles took a few from her to make it easier for her and she said a quick thanks.

"As well as you can imagine." He answered.

Lydia had been there, when Elias arrived. She knew how Stiles behaved, whenever he got anxious or nervous, and she'd quickly discovered Noah wasn't any different when he got like this. He'd constantly rubbed his palm over his lips, had ruffed a hand through his grayish hair and had nervously walked up and down the living room until Melissa had him sitting down.

She had stayed over the whole day, assuming it wouldn't be a good idea to let Stiles alone in such a triggering situation, while he already wasn't feeling well. He had driven her home later in the evening - the ride awfully and unusually quiet, just as the rest of the day had been. And the next day, Stiles had walked her to her locker and they still weren't really talking to each other. She then had given him a little peck on the lips in front of her class, before disappearing through the door. And that's how things went between them for the last six days - quick kisses, little touching and even less talking.

"And dad he's.." Stiles started, but stopped right away again to search for the right words. "I don't know. He's not feeling well and he pretends like he's not affected at all, but I know better."

"Sucks, right?" Lydia said, a small smile playing on her lips, because Stiles was practically describing himself.

He rolled his eyes at her, but the corner of his lips were raising a little as well. "Yeah."

They fell silent for a moment again, walking slowly beside each other, while ignoring everyone else around them. When they reached the class, they stopped in front and Stiles leaned against the opened door.

"I just wish I could help him, you know?"

She did know.

Lydia looked at him for a long while, before finally answering. "You are helping him with your presence alone. He's got you by his side. Just talk to him, doesn't matter about what. It's gonna make him feel better. You should know that."

Stiles golden eyes burned into Lydia's emerald ones, as he nodded as an answer. He would try anything to make his dad feel better. Especially now that he knew how bad it felt not knowing how to help someone, even though you desperately wanted to. If Lydia and his dad constantly felt the way, he was feeling now, he thought they had it so much worse than him. Stiles didn't want to make them feel that way.

"Let's get in class." He quietly said and a put a hand to the small of her back to gently lead her into the room.

They had English first period and got a test back, they'd written during the week. They got a new English teacher, after their last had turned crazy, thinking she was a dark Druid or something - yep, such things happened in Beacon Hills - and the first thing the new teacher did, was showing them just what kind of teacher he was and made them take an unannounced test.

Stiles didn't even look at his test, he knew he got an A, he almost always got one. As a kid, he could never concentrate on classes. His ADHD making him restless and not helping much to keep focus on something. So his dad always made him work everything up after school. He knew how to handle his son way better than the teachers, and so he actually managed to get Stiles to concentrate. He was smart as hell and he learned quickly, that's what always kept his grades up no matter if he paid much attention in class or not. Which was something teachers never really liked to see and Stiles loved to rub it under their noses.

Lydia was the same. She shoved her test underneath her other papers without even looking at her grade. She was dedicated and always made sure to keep her grades up, though that wasn't hard for her. She read a lot on her own, simply being interested in learning new things, which made school less a burden to her and much more an adventure.

Kira though, who sat in front of Stiles, let her head drop down on her desk as she saw a bright red _D_ on her test. She had usually good grades – when it came to announced exams. She only ever learned what she needed to, so unannounced tests always dragged her grades down.

For the rest of the class, Kira shot annoyed looks at their teacher, causing Lydia and Stiles to smirk at each other in amusement. Kira was way too cute to actually look angry.

In his next class, Stiles was alone. No Kira, who grumbled angrily at their teacher. No Lydia, he could look at the whole time. Which meant he had way too much time to think about his dad and Elias and the freaking nightmare he'd had in the night. He got easily distracted from things, but not when it came to overthinking. Stiles hated it.

He spent all his classes like that until lunch. Just thinking about how to get Elias back to where he belonged. Maybe he could visit the facility and ask them if there was another solution. Stiles scribbled his idea down on his school papers, causing him to start making a list of things he could do to help his dad. With a real task at hand, he distracted himself from panicking over his way too livid thoughts.

After her last class, Lydia waited by her locker for Stiles. The other students were already on their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Lydia watched them trailing down the hallway, checking her watch every few minutes in between.

She leaned against her locker with a huff. She hated waiting, because there was no real way to make time go by faster. Lydia opened her purse to look for her phone. She wasn't that annoying girlfriend, that called her boyfriend, when he was only five minutes late, but she wanted to check if he maybe sent her a text. He didn't.

Suddenly, someone bumped against her and she almost let her phone drop at the impact. She raised her head in annoyance, the guy yelled a quick sorry without even stopping to make sure she was okay.

“Asshole.” Lydia grumbled and shoved her phone back into her purse, keeping her gaze on the crowd to avoid another collision. And that's when she spotted him. His tanned skin standing in contrast to the people around him. And Lydia blinked her eyes, not sure if she really saw what she thought she was seeing.

“Danny?!” She asked out loud and caused the tanned boy to turn around. A bright smile formed on his lips, revealing his white teeth, but his brows still furrowed in confusion.

“Lydia?” He asked just as surprised.

Lydia was shaking her head with a laugh and raised her hands in question. “What are you doing here?” She asked in wonder.

“Well I moved here with my parents.” He slowly said, while his brain still tried to process what was happening.

“That's.. crazy!” Lydia laughed. “We only just met and now.. you're here.”

“Yeah, I had no idea you're living in Beacon Hills.”

“Kinda forgot to mention that in my drunken state, eh?” She smirked and she knew, she should be embarrassed by her behavior that night, but she couldn't bring herself to it. Danny wasn't the guy who judged, maybe that was the reason.

Danny laughed at her reply, still not quite over the shock to see Lydia in his new school. He hadn't thought to ever see her again let alone in the town he was moving to. At first he hadn't been sure to ever hear from her again at all. She hadn't called him as he'd asked her to, only after three days of not knowing, if she was fine, she had finally made the call.

And now she was standing in front of him, looking all healthy and fresh and _not_ drunk at all.

“I still can't believe it.” Danny said mesmerized and Lydia agreed instantly.

Stiles was rushing through the crowd of students in the hallway, trying to get as fast as possible to Lydia, now that he was already too late, because his stupid teacher wanted to talk to him after class.

He walked straight up to her locker, when he saw her still standing there. “Hey, sorry Lyd- what the actual fuck?” Stiles started to say and changed his words mid sentence as soon as he spotted Danny.

The same Danny, who had called him to get his drunken girlfriend.

The same Danny, who had been the reason Stiles got jealous.

The same Danny, who was gay as fuck.

Oh, Stiles wanted to kick fate in the ass. Hard.

“Danny?” Stiles finally asked. “Am I.. am I awake or.. seriously, if this is a dream it would suck so badly, because I already managed half day of school and..” He didn't end his sentence, way to confused as to why Danny was standing there. Right fucking there!

“Hey, Stiles.” Was all Danny said, a grin gracing his lips, obviously amused about Stiles' reaction. He couldn't know, Stiles question about whether or not being really awake, was a serious one.

Lydia cleared her throat, unsure of Stiles' thinking. “Danny moved here. Isn't that-”

“Fucked up.” Stiles finished, his eyes locked on Danny's face, as if he wanted to make sure he really was here. Quickly shaking his head, he gesturing with his hands. “I'm mean.. not like that! Just, I don't.. that's really fucking weird.”

Danny laughed Stiles' words off, but agreed nonetheless. “I was just as surprised.”

Stiles only nodded at that, not knowing what else to say. He grabbed Lydia's wrist and looked down at her watch. He was able to read the clock. He quickly scanned his fingers, but everything seemed normal. He was really awake. Danny noticed, but blamed it on Stiles' confused state.

It felt strange standing with Danny in the same school hallways, he'd walked along for years now. Stiles took a quick glance to his side, watching Lydia for any kind of reaction, but she seemed just as unsure about the situation as he was. It didn't really help either, that they still hadn't talked about that fight.

Stiles switched his gaze from Lydia back to Danny, before extending his hand. “Welcome to Beacon Hills, man.” He said, as Danny shook his head. He thanked him with one of his bright smiles, before letting go of his hand.

“So, I guess I should go. Meeting the guys for lunch and all.” Stiles started and he did notice Lydia head whipping around in his direction. He knew why. He was constantly afraid of losing her to someone else, and even though Danny was gay, it didn't mean Lydia couldn't still like him better. But he also knew, that Lydia needed some space. He couldn't always loom over her. So he did, what a good boyfriend would do and swallowed every doubt and fear down and gave Lydia the trust she deserved.

“I'm sure Lydia can walk you around and then.. you can join us for lunch, maybe?” It wasn't like he wanted Danny in his 'inner circle', but not inviting him to have lunch with him and Lydia would just be rude.

Danny, surprised by Stiles' kindness, smiled at him and agreed. “That would be nice, thanks.”

Stiles nodded once, before turning to Lydia. He wanted to kiss her on the cheek goodbye, but held himself back. He didn't want Lydia to think, he'd try to show her off in front of Danny. So instead he gently touched her arm and said bye, then heading off to the cafeteria.

Lydia, who was still in shook at Stiles sudden insight, needed a second to process, but then a smile grazed her lips as she finally understood what just had happened.

She loved her goofball.

Lydia showed Danny around school, just as Stiles had suggested. They didn't walk far, just to the main places like the library or the locker rooms (where Danny told her, he made it into the lacrosse team).

Danny was one of the few people, Lydia was genuinely interested in getting to know. There was something about him, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, maybe it was because he had cared for her so deeply that one night, even though he didn't even know her. He simply was a good person, it was rare to find such pure people.

“So, I'm throwing a party tonight.” Danny began, as they were walking from the locker rooms back to the cafeteria to get their lunch.

“A party?”

“Yeah, you know, kinda like a 'get to know the new guy party'.” He further explained, making the quote marks with his finger, while talking.

“Is that an invitation?”

“Yep.” Danny grinned. “And you can bring Stiles of course. And Scott.”

Lydia returned his grin with a smile and adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Alright, I'll be there. And I'm pretty sure Scott can't wait to celebrate his new status of not being the new guy anymore.”

Danny's brows shot up in surprise first, before furrowing in confusion. “Scott's new here? I thought he's Stiles' brother.”

Lydia shook her head, making her strawberry blonde curls swing from side to side. “He's his stepbrother. He and his mom moved in with Stiles and his da- wait a minute..” Lydia held her hand up, her eyes squeezing into slits, while thinking. “Who told you Scott was Stiles' brother?”

“Stiles.” Danny answered unsure, not really knowing what Lydia was thinking.

Lydia's lips formed into a bright smirk at her newfound information. She would tease the hell out of Stiles for that.

She raised her head to look at Danny, who still seemed a little confused, but Lydia brushed it off and instead slung her right arm through his left one. “So that party of yours..” She said as she starting walking to the cafeteria again. “You trying to get me drunk again?”

Danny's laugh filled the hallway. “I'm actually looking forward getting to know the Sober Lydia.”

“Well, Drunk Lydia seemingly left her impression. She got me that invitation.”

“Such a great girl.”

“Ain't she?”

* * *

 

Lydia and Danny joined the others for lunch, where Danny met Allison, Kira and Isaac. He told them about the party as well, saying the more people to come the better it would get and everyone agreed on coming. Even Isaac, who was never keen on meeting new people. He just couldn't say no to a party.

During the whole lunch time, Danny was topic number one to talk about. It was just as it had been at Scott's first day. And though Danny didn't like gossip, he couldn't resist making different stories up about himself and spreading them around. Which Stiles had genuinely laughed about, as Danny had told them. Stiles was always up for a good round of playing mischief.

In practice, Coach instantly fell in love with Danny. Though he didn't like admitting it, the team had been a whole bunch of shit except for Jackson, until Scott and now Danny joined. Coach finally saw a future for his team and the only one missing in there was his former 24.

After school, the friends said their goodbyes to each other, before parting to get home. Both Scott and Stiles weren't too keen on coming home, knowing what (or more like _who_ ) was waiting for them there. Stiles' dad was already at work now, which were the teenagers happy about, because they all could see how much the Sheriff suffered under Elias' presence.

Melissa had a day off, so the boys weren't surprised, when they got hit by the delicious smell of her food as they entered the house. Both the teenagers let their backpacks drop by the door and pulled their shoes off, before walking further into the house.

Elias sat in the living room in front of the tv, watching some documentation about aliens on the discovery channel, which Stiles thought was pretty fitting. He ignored his grandpa and flopped down on the couch with his feet up the coffee table.

Scott greeted his mom in the kitchen first, before finding a place next to Stiles.

"No manners. You greet your family, when you come home, Mietek." Elias scolded with a growl. Stiles couldn't help but notice how he purposely talked directly to him - not considering Scott as family. And though Stiles had issues with the whole family thing, he found himself kinda pissed at Elias leaving Scott out.

Scott frowned at Elias' words, but not that much about what Stiles had noticed and more about the name the older man had used for Stiles. He tried to remember it, so he could ask Stiles later on.

"You're not family, Elias." Stiles replied dryly, while keeping his gaze on the tv.

Elias grumbled deeply and sent himself in a coughing fit right after that. He cleaned his mouth off spit and then leaned forward to train his eyes intensely on his grandchild.

"You're spoiled. If your father had treated you differently, this wouldn't have happened." He said and it sent shivers down Scott's back, even thought he wasn't the one talked to. "But what else should I expect? Your dad never managed to do anything right. Just like that dead mom of yours. It's a miracle you're even existing, if you ask me."

A chuckle escaped the older man at his own words, while Stiles fought the urge to do anything stupid. He wanted to rip off Elias' head for what he'd said about his dad _and_ his mom. But he needed to be the smarter one. Elias was clever as well, he knew how to rill up people and cause strife to his amusement. Stiles just had to hold back his temper - his really really bad temper.

"I don't think anyone needs your advice at parenting. Especially not my dad."

The Sheriff was the best dad Stiles could've wished for. He knew if anything went to shit, he would be there - loving him and caring for him.

Elias had to have some serious issues, if he really thought he had handled his family the right way.

"Your father was a brat. He deserved everything I did to him and more. I should've been harder with him, maybe he wouldn't be such a loser now. My own goddamn son.." He continued his rant and sounded with each word passing his lips angrier.

Stiles was disgusted.

"Well, _I_ think grown people, who beat up innocent kids deserve to get punished, so would it be okay to, like you know, kick you down the stairs? I'd even let you stay in your wheelchair, could be more fun like that." Stiles answered, his voice still cool and untouched, which he was grateful for. Because inside him build up a storm he knew he couldn't hold back if Elias didn't stop soon.

Like Stiles had assumed, his grandpa didn't answer. He only twisted his face in anger and Stiles was sure of it; if Elias would still be able to throw punches, he'd received one right in the face.

And though he would never admit it, Stiles was partly similar to his grandfather. He surely would never hurt his loved ones, but the violent side still existed deeply within Stiles. He also used his cleverness against people. And boy, did he enjoy it.

Stiles falsely cleared his throat and turned his gaze on his grandfather for the first time. "You want me to push you down forwards or backwards?" Of course he wouldn't ever do that, but well, he liked messing with people - especially assholes. "I think backwards gives you a real kick, like, pumping up your adrenaline even higher." Stiles continued and gestured with his hands - looking so calm and relaxed, as if he wouldn't talk about a violent act.

Elias swallowed. He was pretty sure his grandkid wouldn't do anything like that (he simply didn't have the guts, just like Noah), but a part of him - the one, who knew Stiles was mentally ill - let him believe, that maybe he'd do it though.

Melissa, who had walked from the kitchen in the living room and heard the conversation, scolded Stiles mildly. "Stiles, please stop that." She said without even thinking about it.

Stiles looked over to Melissa, an unreadable expression on his face. He seriously wanted to tell her to fuck off, because - news flash! - she wasn't his mother. But (and that was a huge but) she was his father's partner, which meant he had to respect her just as much.

He'd never liked taking orders, so it wasn't easy for him to swallow his words down, but he managed anyway, with the knowledge, that his dad would be proud as hell, if he'd been there.

Stiles turned his gaze back to the lame alien documentation on the tv, contently with himself ignoring everyone around him now.

Melissa watched Stiles' reaction closely and she could see him biting his tongue, but he didn't say anything back, so she marked it down as a success. She went over to Elias and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.

"Hey, I was watching that!" He yelled, as Melissa started to roll him out of the living room to give her boys some peace.

"Exactly, _was._ " She replied with a smirk and winked at Scott, who watched them in amusement.

She put the wheelchair in front of the dining table, in a way, so he could watch her work and wouldn't get bored, though she had to bear the one or another comment about her kitchen skills.

Half an hour later, the teenagers joined the dining table, as Melissa put the cooked food on it. Their dinner was tense and uncomfortable, and for once everyone ate in silence.

Stiles drifted back to finding a way to get rid of Elias, so his dad would finally feel better again, while Scott was just as lost in his thoughts.

Melissa spent the whole dinner considering, if she should just start a conversation and try to get the kids to talk her, but she couldn't stand Elias' constant annoying comments anymore and it was sure to say, he wouldn't hold anything back no matter what they would talk about.

Since she moved in with Noah, they had managed to somehow live as a family together. She could see, Stiles was still not that happy about it, but he came closer with Scott, so she definitely saw that as development. And now with Noah's father here, she felt like starting all over again to get this family closer. Noah was really quiet the whole time, Stiles seemed even angrier than before and Scott was just as lost as Melissa felt.

The mother looked over to the old man. He contently ate his mashed potatoes, seemingly having no worries whatsoever. He didn't look like an abusive man - until he opened his mouth.

Melissa straightened her back and set her gaze back to the boys. She never was one to hide and she wouldn't allow to get put down by an angry old man, who'd set his mind to make everyone around him feel bad. She wouldn't let him win.

"So." She started, a happy sound in her voice. "It's Friday, any plans for tonight?"

Both teenagers raised their look from the food and trained their eyes on Melissa instead. She had a smile on her face and though it had felt a little forced in the beginning, she was glad, she decided playing no longer Elias' wicked games.

"There's a party tonight." Scott answered his mom.

"Oh, your first one since we moved here." She replied and sounded genuinely happy for her son. Her biggest fear had been, that Scott wouldn't find any friends at his new school, since he hadn't had that much in his old one. But Beacon Hills seemed to treat him better. "Who's is it?" She asked in further interest. She wasn't that kind of mother, which was constantly fearing for her son, nonetheless she liked knowing where he was and what he was doing.

"You won't believe this." Scott started with a laugh in his voice. "It's Danny, the guy, who called Stiles that night to get Lydia. He moved here now."

Melissa's brows shot up in surprise, before her lips curled up in a smile. "Life has its ways."

They fell silent for a moment, while piling up their empty plates. Melissa put them in the sink, before letting it fill with warm water. She leaned against the counter and looked back to Scott and Stiles.

"When's that party?"

Scott looked over to Stiles, because he would be driving with him again and therefore didn't know when the other wanted to head over. Stiles noticed Scott's eyes on him and raised his own gaze up, joining the conversation.

"Uhm, I'm gonna get Lydia around 8, I think, and then we'll drive from there over to Danny's." Stiles scratched his jawline with his finger, while answering, which made him look nervous and a little lost. And he kinda felt like it, too. It was strange talking to Melissa like he did with his dad. Answering questions only parents wanted to know. Meeting her kind motherly eyes, while speaking. It made his heart ache.

But the pull at his heart quickly got replaced by annoyance, as Elias spoke up again. And though he didn't say anything nice - he never did -, Stiles was grateful for the change of emotions within him. He'd rather be angry than.. whatever he felt before.

"You're still with that Martin girl?" Elias asked, and Stiles knew what was coming next. He'd heard the line over and over again. "She's gonna betray you, Mietek. I tell you, her mother was-"

"A whore. I know." Stiles interrupted with a roll of his golden eyes.

Elias continued, as if Stiles hadn't said anything. "She slept her way through the whole high school. Taking everyone home, who didn't say 'no' fast enough. Even her teachers!" He ranted and emphasized every word with a finger pointed at Stiles. "Her daughter won't be any different, Mietek."

Telling an anxious person things like that, certainly didn't do any good to their minds. Stiles knew Lydia wouldn't ever betray him, but she could still leave him for someone better than him.

"Thanks for the chat, Elias." Stiles murmured and stood up. He could think of better things than listening to his grandfather's ranting.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, boy."

Stiles always thought he was a negative person, but he was nothing compared to Elias. "Mind taking my turn?" He asked his stepbrother next and gestured to the sink with the dishes. They usually took turns, but Stiles couldn't bare one second longer in this suffocating kitchen.

"Still helping me with biology?" Scott asked in return.

"Sure."

They confirmed their deal by bumping their fists together, before Stiles left the kitchen and made his way upstairs.

Scott understood. He didn't know how it was having a family like that, but he had enough empathy left to guess what it felt like.

The only family drama Scott had experienced was his parents' divorce, but even now his mom and dad came somewhat along. He had no evil grandpa; he had no one lost yet; all in all his life had been pretty easy so far.

And because of that, he couldn't just sit around and watch the Stilinskis - his new family - struggle. He felt the need to help and he would do it wherever he could. Even if it just happened by washing the dishes two days in a row.

While Scott did the dishes, Melissa gave Elias his pills. For someone, who needed so much help, he certainty had a way too big mouth (though Melissa thought, that could be a family thing).

Afterwards Scott went up to join Stiles in their room. He didn't mind sharing a room, nevertheless he couldn't wait to have his own soon. Scott didn't like invading Stiles' privacy all the time. And though Stiles had said it was okay with him now, Scott tried to give him some space, especially when Lydia was around. But since their fight, she hadn't slept over once and Scott was already so used to see Lydia constantly at Stiles' side, it felt weird not seeing her around so much. He didn't want to know, how Stiles must feel like.

"Hey, started already?" Scott asked as he walked in the room, seeing Stiles sitting at his desk hunched over papers and books.

"Yeah, not with chemistry though, don't worry." He answered without looking up from what he was writing down. He had promised Scott they would do their chemistry homework together since Mr. Harris - their teacher - was a pain in the ass and neither of the teenager wanted to do something wrong.

Scott went over to the chair in the corner, gathering the things loaded on top and laying them down on Stiles' bed for now, before pulling the chair up to the desk beside Stiles. Scott made room for himself and then put his own books and papers on top.

Stiles kept writing a little while longer, finishing his English papers, before shoving them out of the way and taking Lydia's biology notes to hand to keep his other promise on helping Scott.

"Are those Lydia's?" Scott ask, while eyeing the handwriting.

Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, I stole them from her."

Scott only blinked at his brother. And when Stiles saw the look on his face, he briefly rolled his eyes. "What? She won't need them anyway. And I'm not in that class, so if you want me to help you I need to know what you're working at."

Scott sighed. He had asked Lydia to help him since she was in the same class, and she'd agreed, but then she had that fight with Stiles and the whole thing with Elias happened, and somehow they just forgot to study together. That was until his biology teacher had reminded them of the test they would write next week and both Lydia and Scott had looked at each other in shook as they remembered their forgotten study session.

And since Lydia was occupied this afternoon, Scott thought he gave it a shot and asked Stiles instead, who had nodded his agreement.

But now, that Scott watched Stiles working his way through Lydia's papers, he wasn't so sure anymore, if that was a good idea. After all, Stiles had just as much clue as Scott had.

At least he thought so.

"Yeah, alright. I think I got it."

"Just like that?!" Scott gaped. "How's that fair? I'm actually _in_ that class and don't understand any of that."

"That's because our teachers are fucking terrible at what they're doing." Stiles mumbled absently, while reading over the notes. "Lydia told me about that stuff here already. I think I can help."

Stiles leaned himself back with the notes still in his hand. He scratched his nose, while thinking of the best way to explain. The topic was about hereditary patterns and genes, and though it was easy to understand, Stiles didn't quite know where to start.

"Sooo.." He said - the best way to start a conversation. "You know that we get certain traits from our parents like our hair color, right? They are passed on by genes in our DNA."

Scott nodded and scribbled down on his own biology papers. They were much messier than Lydia's and though he knew he shouldn't compare himself to Lydia on that matter, he couldn't help but try to do better now.

"Yeah, that I know." Scott finally answered.

"Alright, so the genes determine traits." Stiles repeated to keep track himself. His eyes quickly scanned the notes, before he continued. "And then there's the allele, that's a specific pattern within a gene. They determine single characteristics. Meaning, genes determine things like the hair color, while alleles causing your hair to be specifically brown."

Scott moved his head slowly up and down, though he had no idea what Stiles was talking about. He already regretted taking biology.

Stiles squinted his eyes at him, Scott's face giving away his cluelessness. "You'll get this, don't worry." He assured with a tight lipped smile. Stiles wasn't good with words. Well, he was way too good with _sarcastic_ words, but when it came to reassurance and emphaty he never found the right way to say what he actually meant.

"Alright, move on."

"Okay, we're actually coming to the easy part now." Stiles took Lydia's papers and put them in the middle of the desk for Scott to see better. "Alleles are always coming in pairs. They're getting differentiated into recessive and dominant categories. And that's what these letters are for." Stiles pointed on the paper, where the letters were written. He explained further, that capital letters representing dominant genes, while lower case are used for the recessive gene.

"Here, look at Lydia's example. The little _r_ stands for red hair, which is recessive compared to _B_ brown hair. So the offspring would receive the pattern _Br_ \- it's got both brown and red in their genes, but since brown is dominant, the offspring certainty would get brown hair." He told Scott and followed with his pointer finger along the notes, and it wasn't until he finished explaining, that he noticed Lydia used him and herself as an example. There were literally standing the genes of their kid on that paper. _Motherfucking crazy_.

"So, you and Lydia would have a brown haired kid." Scott spoke Stiles' thoughts out loud. "What about the eyes? They'd be brown as well, right?"

Stiles simply nodded, still looking at that little _Br_ written in front of him. He needed a moment, before he found his voice again. "Yeah. Here, write it down." He said and shoved a blank paper in front of Scott.

Scott took his pen and started writing, speaking everything out loud. "Okay, your brown eyes _B_ are dominant compared to Lydia's green eyes _g_. The result would be _Bg_ and the kid would have brown eyes. Right? That's right isn't it?! Oh my god, I'm a genius." Scott threw his arms over his head, celebrating his little success. He struggled a lot with school since he moved and it felt good to finally understand something.

"Yeah, but like.. my dad's got greenish eyes as well and recessive genes can dominate the actual dominant gene in the next generation. Like, if you got small grandparents, but your parents are tall, you can still get the height of your grandparents. That's how two white people can get a black child, if they got black relatives. But yeah, that's a different story." Stiles waved his explanation off, thinking way to far ahead, and pointed to Scott's paper instead. "Let's make another. This time with two dominant genes."

"Alright.. uhm.. like me? And who?"

"I don't know. Someone you like."

"Allison." Scott answered and smiled dreamily.

Stiles rolled his eyes beside him. "I meant like a celebrity crush, idiot." He bit out, while trying to push the image of Allison and Scott together out of his mind.

"Oh." Scott turned scarlet. "Like Selena Gomez?"

"The fuck, no! Selena Gomez is my celebrity crush."

"Alright, then what about our parents?"

"Holy motherfucking Jesus, no, just no. You know what, fuck it, here." Stiles harshly took the pen out of Scott's hand and scribbled his own brown hair down with a _B_ , just as Scott's with another _B_. He'd rather get himself pregnant with Scott, than imagine Melissa and his dad getting a baby.

Scott smirked silently in amusement and wrote the result of their baby down. "You'd be a great mom."

"Scott, we both know you'd be the mom here."

"What? No. Why?"

Stiles rose one brow at him and if Lydia would be here, she'd say he was showing his typical 'I'm so done with this world' - face. "Why? You asking why? Because Isaac got himself covered in pizza sauce today and you were so close cleaning his face with your napkin."

"No, I wasn't." Scott lied. He couldn't change his caring nature.

"You were. I'm seeing things, you know."

This time it was Stiles who cockily smirked. He pushed his chair back and let himself roll over to where his backpack was lying on the floor. He searched for his chemistry book and when he found it and he rolled back to the desk.

"We're done with biology already?" Scott asked surprised as he saw the chemistry book in Stiles' lap.

"You got the basics, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'll understand the rest of it as well. The thing with the dominant and recessive genes will get a little more complicated, but with the basics you'll get it. Just copy Lydia's notes, you won't get anything done with your mess."

"Yours aren't better." Scott noted.

"Yeah, but I don't need them."

"Smartass." Scott grumbled quietly, but Stiles heard.

He fake gasped and put a hand in front of his mouth. "Scott McCall insulting people? That's new."

"Maybe I'm turning into you."

"Nah, you won't be that lucky." Stiles grinned, while stretching his arms up in the air and his legs underneath the desk.

It felt oddly familiar to joke around with Scott, even though he didn't even knew him that long. But Scott was such a kindhearted and comfortable person to hang with, Stiles constantly forgot to put his walls up high.

Scott felt a lot like family, but like the good kind of family like his dad, not like Elias or the hurtful loss of his mother. Stiles liked that feeling he got around Scott, but he knew as well it would drag him down even further, if Scott decided he had enough time wasted putting up with Stiles' moods.

Stiles hated his uncertainty.

"Hey, Stiles?" Scott suddenly said and pulled Stiles' out of his thinking.

"Hm?"

Scott kept his gaze locked down on his papers, where he was copying Lydia's notes. He had a feeling it would be better to not look directly at Stiles, when it came to personal questions.

"I was wondering.. why Elias calls you Mietek."

Scott didn't know, if there was any special meaning behind the name, but he never knew what to expect when it came to Stiles.

Stiles turned his head to look at Scott, who didn't meet his gaze. Usually, he was always suspicious about personal questions, but this time - and he didn't know why - he didn't mind it.

"It's a nickname of my real name." He answered simply.

"Mom told me what it's called, but I kinda forgot."

"Now you know why everyone sticks with Stiles." Stiles said with a little smile on his face. His name was always a mystery to everyone around him, who didn't knew him good enough or just got to meet him. And Stiles kinda liked it that way.

Of course a normal name would have done it just the same and people always reacted confused about both his real name _and_ his nickname. But Stiles knew the meaning behind it and that's something he would never want to change.

"It's Mieczyslaw."

"Oh yeah, right!" Scott uttered with a nod.

Stiles leaned back in his chair, his legs stretched out and one of his hands slipping underneath his shirt to scratch his stomach absently. "It's the name of my mom's dad." He didn't know why he felt like explaining where his name was coming from, he did it anyway.

Scott looked over to Stiles in interest, but Stiles starred straight forward on the wall in front of him, seeming lost in thoughts, though he continued talking. "When my dad met my mom's dad he was.. mesmerized. He was kind and cared for his family and you know, that's something my dad never experienced before."

Silence surrounded them for a moment, Stiles thinking about the day his dad had told him the same story he was telling Scott now. Stiles had been five as someone had laughed at him the first time because of his weird name. And Noah didn't want his son to be ashamed of it, so he'd told him proudly the story how he met Claudia's dad the first time and since then Stiles never again had felt bad when someone was laughing.

"Anyways" Stiles started again and sat himself straight up. "My dad told my mom at some point, he wanted to name their kid after her dad. And my mom.. well she laughed at him and asked, if he really wanted to put a kid through that." Stiles lips curled up in a little smile at the thought of that. He had always imagined how that moment could have looked liked. Maybe the sun had been shining, while his parents hugged each other close, talking about a future Claudia would never fully have.

"That's great, Stiles. Seriously, there couldn't be a better meaning behind a name." Scott said softly.

He was glad Stiles open up on his own, even if it just was the story behind his name.

"Wanna hear the best part?" Stiles continued, his smile still on his face, but Scott couldn't help but think there was a bitterness behind it. He nodded anyways.

"My dad wanted me to have a name that belonged to someone kindhearted." Stiles looked down to his hands while talking, his fingers stroking against each other patternless. "And now no one knows that name and everyone calls me Stiles instead." He paused a second to raise his gaze back to Scott, brown puppy eyes looking back at him. "Elias got called like that in the army."

There was nothing more to say, Scott understood what Stiles wanted to say. Noah wanted Stiles to have a name he was proud of, but ended up having the same nickname as the only person Noah hated wholeheartedly.

"It's just a name, Stiles. It doesn't define you. You're nothing like Elias and I'm pretty sure Noah is really proud to have you as his son." Scott said and his voice sounded so gentle and honest Stiles almost believed him.

Scott always knew what to say. That was something Stiles irritated much. How could a person possibly know an answer to everything? Not even Lydia was that good. Maybe she and Stiles had to help him with school things, but Scott was way better on being a perfectly kind human being. Stiles felt like he could learn a lot from Scott, if he weren't so goddamn stubborn.

"And if it makes you feel better, I could start calling you Miezcyslaw and force everyone to do the same." Scott added with a crooked smirk, turning the heavy mood into a light one, and Stiles couldn't stop his lips from smiling as well; the thought alone of Scott trying to force someone doing things they didn't want was way too absurd.

"Nah, that name's so foreign to me, Stiles is gonna do it."

"You're gonna give that name a whole new definition." Scott said smilingly.

Stiles looked over to Scott, his hopeful and kind expression wrecking Stiles' insides.

He was mad at Scott for seeing him as someone worth to get saved.

He wanted to slap that constant smile off of Scott's face.

He wanted to _punch_ it off, in hope Scott would finally know what kinda person Stiles was.

A person, who didn't deserve so much kindness, because all he gave in return was rejection.

* * *

 

The party was on full force, when Lydia, Scott and Stiles arrived at Danny's.

“He's _new._ How can there be so many people?” Scott asked in shock, as he watched a half naked girl run across the front yard.

“Well, he isn't such a loser like you are.” Stiles answered simply, while following Scott's view on the girl. Lydia gave him a little nudge with her elbow, causing Stiles twitch in surprise and look down to his girlfriend. She raised an eyebrow at him and he kissed her temple.

Together they made their way inside. Loud music was drumming in their ears and it almost looked like all teenagers of Beacon Hills were partying in Danny's house. Each one of them a drunken mess.. or pretend to be drunk at least.

“Crazy.” Scott muttered again.

The three of them wandered further into the house, trying to spot Danny somewhere, which wasn't easy with all the other people around them. Lydia and Stiles had been at lots of parties in Beacon Hills, but this one came close to be the biggest of them all.

It was hot and sticky inside there, making Scott's head already spin without drinking alcohol yet. He could feel the beat of the music in his body, causing him to start moving his head to the rhythm of the song. He let his gaze wander around the place. The house looked expansive and Scott couldn't help but wince as he saw a broken vase on the floor and a painting hanging off the wall in a weird angle.

“Guys, you made it!” The friends turned around at Danny's voice behind them. He wormed his way through the mass, before reaching them. He had a beer bottle in his hand and wore a brilliant smile on his face. “Come on, grab something to drink.”

Scott and Stiles got each a beer bottle themselves and Danny pushed a cup of some self mixed cocktail into Lydia's hands.

“I'm usually the one throwing the best parties in Beacon Hills, but I admit yours isn't bad either.” Lydia said with an amused smile on her lips, taking a sip of her drink right after that.

Danny laughed and then shrugged one shoulder while nodding along. “Yeah, I can imagine.” The drunk girl from the night, when they first met, came back to his mind. She definitely seemed like one, who could throw a good party. “Your other friends are here already as well. Allison, Kira and.. uhm..” He frowned, trying to come up with the right name, but he met so many people today, he simply forgot. It really wasn't his fault.

“Isaac.” Lydia filled in. “That's cool, we're gonna check in on them later.”

“Actually” Stiles threw in and placed a hand on Lydia's hip to get her attention. “I'd say Scott and me gonna look for them and you can.. I don't know.. talk a bit longer if you want to.” He suggested. Again he tried to give her the space he knew she needed.

Lydia noticed, just as she had in school. And she really appreciated his kind gesture. “Alright, thanks.”, she said with a soft smile. “I'll find you later.”

Stiles agreed with a nod and a little smirk, before turning to leave, but this time Lydia stopped him. She knew why he didn't kiss her in front of Danny and she thought it was actually sweet, but there was no need for that. Stiles wouldn't ever show her off in front of anybody. She wasn't a thing for him, that's something she had always known.

So she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him gently down to meet her lips halfway, showing him it was okay to kiss her when he wanted to. Stiles had a goofy expression on his face after their kiss. Lydia thought that was one of the reasons she fell in love with him.

* * *

 

Lydia stayed with Danny for a while. They sat together in the kitchen, where they had some more space and could actually talk to each other without getting interrupted. They shared some things about their life, just as they had done at school. Lydia thought it was nice getting to know someone new for a change. Not that she got bored of anyone she knew, absolutely not, but Danny seemed to be a great guy and having some nice people in your life could never be wrong.

Scott and Stiles went looking for their friends and they found them rather quickly in a corner of the living room. They sat with them, greeted each other and drank together. In fact, Allison and Kira already seemed to be somewhat tipsy, making them all giggly. Isaac though still had a clear mind, which wasn't typical for him. Usually he was the first one to get drunk. Or high.

Allison's tipsiness made her brave though. So only after a few exchanged words, she grabbed Scott by the hand and pulled him up to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the living room. Stiles looked after them, an unsettling feeling in his stomach but he tried his best to feel happy for his best friend. Kira laid a gentle hand on his knee to calm him down a bit.

“Where's Lydia? You two still sneaking around each other?” The asian girl asked her friend.

Stiles shook his head, while looking at Kira. “No, she drove with us. She's with Danny now. I think they kinda.. need to get know each other since he's the one who helped her, when she was drunk that other night.” He explained to her and – which was probably the first time ever – didn't feel bad while doing so. He loved Lydia and couldn't bear the thought of her getting closer to others. He was always afraid she might care for someone else deeper than for him. But now, he was okay with her being with Danny. He didn't know why either. Maybe because of their fight. Because she spoke his fears out loud. Because she _understood_ his fears.

“Don't worry too much.” Kira said in a calming voice and patted his knee, before taking her hand to herself again.

“I don't.” He replied honestly and smiled at his friend. “She deserves it.”

Then he let his gaze wander around his surroundings, over all the people there, the furniture. The house was already decorated with the strangest (but really expansive looking) shit, which made Stiles wonder how much money Danny's parents owned. He let the thought drop quickly though. He was always curious, but not about that kinda things.

He spotted Lydia near the kitchen door and he watched her talk and laugh. A warm feeling spread in his belly. It only took a few seconds, then she was turning her head and looking directly at him. She seemingly felt his gaze on her and that was something that amazed him so much. She puckered her lips at him in a kiss and he smiled brightly across the room and gave her a wink. Lydia laughed, before politely turning around again to take her attention back to her newfound friend.

Time seemed to fly, while everyone was enjoying themselves. They all had a great time and were glad Danny invited them over. Even Isaac and Stiles, who both liked to keep by themselves, actually had a fun evening the whole time. At some point Allison and Scott joined the others again as well, which finally let Stiles completely relax.

Lydia was still by Danny's side, though now they got more and more company in the kitchen and of course other people wanted to get to know the guy who was throwing the party as well. So Lydia decided to say her goodbyes for now and told him to meet up later again if they were able to find each other. Danny agreed and gave her one of his big shiny white grins.

The teenage girl pushed her way through the crowd. She had a new mission in mind now and her target was sitting right there in the corner of the room with a blue plaid shirt on. The whole time they gave each other quick and teasing looks from across the room. But none of these looks had the impression to her, that Stiles was jealous. It seemed to be the complete opposite. Because she was happy, he was happy as well. And Lydia wanted to show him how thankful she was for his understanding.

When she finally made it over to her friends, she said a hello in the round, but didn't waste much time grabbing Stiles by his arm to signal him to stand up. He did, immediately, he always did. Lydia let her hand slide down his arm to intertwine their fingers, then she started walking again and Stiles followed her on her hand.

"Where are we going?" Stiles asked, being confused and amused at the same time.

Lydia walked up the stairs with him and randomly opened a door. It seemed to be some kind of office, but Lydia didn't care. For what she had in mind the room would do it.

She pulled her boyfriend into the office, before closing the door behind them and then pressing him against it. His back met the door and of course he knew what she had planned by the way her eyes were raking all over him and her wandering hand on his crotch, but he didn't know _why_ she wanted to do it. Not that she really needed a reason to, but for Stiles it seemed to happen all of a sudden and he couldn't stop his stupid brain from overthinking.

"H-Hey Lydia, what um-"

"No talking." Lydia hushed and pressed her lips to his outstanding jawline. She gave him sweet kitten licks and soft bites, and Stiles swallowed heavily. His hands found themselves on Lydia's hips. He squeezed her body with his hands, trying to focus on only one thing, which wasn't really easy with her lips and hands all over him.

She was a goddess. His goddess.

Lydia smiled against his neck, her lips trailing down to his collarbone, where she sucked a little bruise on his pale skin. Her hands worked on his jeans all the while - fumbling with the belt, snapping the button open and pushing the jeans to his thighs.

Stiles breathed heavily, even though Lydia barely had started, but she had that effect on him. She either calmed him down with her touch or was the reason for his heart to rip out of its cage.

Her small palm rubbed softly, but firmly over his half hard dick in his boxers. She was almost proud of herself for making him hard so fast and she couldn't wait to taste her reward.

Lydia bit her plush bottom lip and looked up to Stiles from under her lashes, while slowly sinking down to her knees in front of him. Stiles brows furrowed deeply, making Lydia almost laugh. He had known she had something sexual in her mind (why else should she drag him up there?), but he kinda thought she wanted him to fuck her against the wall or on that heavy Mahagoni desk in the middle of the room. Or maybe that she was in desperate need to get off and she wanted him to eat her out. But he hadn't thought of _her_ going down on _him_. Especially after everything that happened.

He was confused, but damn, he had missed her touch. Her soft hands on his skin, her full lips kissing him into madness, he wanted it all.

"What are you doing?" His voice was a whisper and he wished he could be stronger, but she was making him so weak.

Lydia raised a brow at him, showing him a look that said 'you know exactly what I'm doing here'. She slipped her fingers to the waistband of his boxers, dragging them slowly down, while bending forward and mouthing on his now exposed skin.

"Wha- what.." He started again, but it got harder and harder for him to concentrate.

"I know what you're doing." Lydia answered him, her voice so calm, he actually hated it. He was falling apart right in front of her and she seemed all collected.

"Mhm, yeah.." He muttered, as she took his cock out of his boxers, stroking him gently all the while. "But I actually asked what _you_ were doing, not what _I'm_ doing." He knew what he was doing. He was losing his shit, because of his fucking perfect girlfriend kneeling in front of him. He didn't need anybody to tell him that.

Lydia all but ignored his words. She put a kiss to the tip of his member, before looking up again, her expression now somewhat softer. "I know what you were doing the whole day." She repeated. "You gave me space, let me alone with Danny, I mean that's.." She laughed softly while talking. "For a moment I wasn't sure if you really were my boyfriend. But then I saw it in your eyes. You wanted to show me you trust me. And you did that the whole time in school and then here at the party and that's making me so hot, I really wanna give you something back in return."

Stiles swallowed again, while blinking down at her. It hadn't been his intention to get a reward for finally behaving like a boyfriend should. "Lydia.." He started and took her hand off his cock (which he really didn't like, because she felt like heaven, but he couldn't tell her something serious, when she had her hands on him and his fucking dick right in front of her face). He wanted to pull the fabric of his boxer back up, but she stopped him. He halted briefly and then gently laid his hands on each side of her face instead and pulled her upwards a bit. She was still kneeling, but didn't sit on her heels anymore, so that she was facing his belly now, which was definitely better than his dick.

"Listen, I was a complete asshole this whole time. I really just tried to be a good boyfriend for once, alright? You know how much I love it when you suck me off, but you really don't need to do that. Not because of that." Lydia never did anything she didn't want to, nevertheless Stiles felt the need to tell her just that.

"Stiles, since our fight we haven't even kissed much, let alone touched each other. So if I'm not doing it _for_ you, I'm gonna do it _because_ of you. I miss my sexy boyfriend and I really want his dick now." Her words were feisty, but her eyes still looked so kind, Stiles knew she took his words to heart, which was all he wanted.

Lydia sunk down to her heels again, her ass meeting her feet and her face equal to his dick again. She took him in her hands again, smiled up and then leaned forward to wrapped her lips around the tip. Stiles shuddered above her, while she let her tongue work over him, circling and sucking lightly.

"Hey, I saw Allison and Scott together.. you think they.. I don't know.. do something?" That was something he'd wanted to ask her since she joined the group again, but she'd dragged him up here so quickly he just forgot until now. Only that now wasn't really the perfect moment to ask something like that.

His girlfriend peeked up to him with a raised brow. She pulled back slightly to answer him. "You're really thinking of that, while I'm trying to suck you off?"

Stiles gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing again and again until he stuttered out a "No?"

Lydia sighed and let her hands drop to her lap. This wasn't going as she wanted it to be, but she knew Stiles insecurity would only be raising if she forced him to stop talking about it.

"They like each other, Stiles. I don't know what they'll do, but whatever it is, they won't do it to hurt you." Lydia assured softly. Sometimes she wished she could see into his head to know exactly what he was thinking and feeling in moments like that. She wanted to help him - really help him -, but most of the times she could only do so much. She knew why he was feeling that way, but she couldn't understand it. Not like she needed to.

Stiles still looked a little wary. He believed her words, but they just wouldn't go to the right places in his brain.

So Lydia tried again. "They both love you, alright? You get that? I mean, look at Scott. He's trying so hard to build a nice brother relationship with you. He not only wants to stay in your life, he even tries his best to make you want the same."

Stiles opened his mouth to reply, but Lydia interrupted him even before he could start talking.

"And no, he's not doing that to betray you later on. Scott's all puppy dog, he would never do anything to hurt you or anyone else."

Stiles closed his mouth again.

For a little while, all he did was look down to his girlfriend, who was still on her knees. It should be weird, that they had this conversation, while his dick was (still proudly erected) out of his boxers, and yeah okay, maybe it was a little weird after all, but Stiles could only see his beautiful girl in front of him.

When Lydia saw the little smile playing on Stiles' lips, she finally raised herself up again and shot him a cocky look. "Anything else you wanna talk about or are you finally gonna fuck my mouth?"

Stiles' dick jumped with happiness at her words and he didn't even answer her, as he put a hand to the back of her head and pushed his shaft back between her lips.

His fingers threaded between the thick strands of her hair, holding her firmly but gently to move her head forward and back again, his hips following. He was slow at first. Enjoying her wet tongue on the underside of his dick, the tightness of her mouth, whenever she sucked on him. Though all she had to do was sit back and let him ravish her, she still managed to make it even better by rolling her tongue around the crown of his cock every time he pulled back or moaning deliciously, even though she wasn't the one getting anything out of it.

When Lydia gave him an innocent look with her big emerald eyes, he groaned loudly and snapped his hips forward. Lydia choked slightly at the sudden invasion, but other than that showed no discomfort, so Stiles decided to keep up with the deeper trusts. He still moved slow, but this time he pushed as far as she would let him. Lydia was a pro at swallowing him completely down, though she always needed a few moments to get used to the fullness in her throat, which is why he worked his way down slowly and gently.

After only a couple of thrusts, it was Lydia who moved her head forward on her own and took Stiles' whole length down her throat.

"Fuck, Lydia!" Stiles moaned and tightened his grip on her hair. His hips humping against her face excitedly and Lydia held still until she was out of breath. Stiles let her go as soon as she tried to pull back.

"You're so good at this." He praised her in a whisper, while pushing his cock back in her mouth.

Stiles easily found a rhythm, fucking her face with a rough grip on her hair and quickening thrusts. He hadn't even known how badly he needed that release until Lydia started to suck him. Sex was one of the best ways to let go of his stress and Lydia was all to eager to help him with that.

Lydia breathed steady, she used every second to breath through her nose, before her air got blocked again by Stiles' dick slipping down her throat. Her eyes were watering slightly and she cursed herself silently. That would ruin her make up. Though as soon as she heard her boyfriend groaning in pleasure above her, she quickly forgot about that thought.

It never took him long to lose it, when she let him fuck her mouth. He never thought it would be possible before, but he was actually getting off on the amount of trust she was putting into him. He could do whatever he wanted to her, while she sat there on her knees, but never did she expect him to do something she didn't like. Stiles loved it.

With strength he kept thrusting into her mouth, losing himself in her tight wetness, but still careful on watching for any kind of discomfort she might show. She didn't though. She felt his hands tighten in her hair and the snaps of his hips got sloppier as well. Lydia knew he was close and she swooned in the knowledge that she did that to him.

Lydia set her teary gaze up to his eyes, giving him the same big eyed look as before, while starting moaning for him. She began to move her head a little on her own again and Stiles slowed down, though he kept up with his deep thrusts.

He locked his eyes on hers, when he felt his stomach tighten and then pushed in one last time, before coming on her tongue and down her throat. He groaned her name, holding her head to him, as he shook with his release. And Lydia swallowed. She didn't always, but it wasn't like she had much choice this time, though she didn't mind. That's what she came up here for.

When Stiles let go of Lydia, he took a deep breath and let his head fall against the door behind him. He was relaxed and calm, like every stressing feeling he'd gotten downstairs had been shot away the moment he came.

Lydia almost looked amused as she watched him from her place on her knees. She drew back slowly, letting him slip out of her mouth, before tucking his cock back into his boxers and coming back up. He knees crackled from sitting too long in the same position.

Stiles scanned her face, he made sure she was okay. Gently he ran his thumb beneath her eyes to wash away the black smudges from her mascara, making her look presentable again. He got a little smile on his face while doing so. She was so much more worth than him and he would never be good enough for her, but he would never stop trying either.

“That was fun.” She remarked and caused Stiles to laugh. He'd been fucking her throat ruthlessly and these were the first words that came out of her ravished mouth. How she still could look at him like that – all lovingly and _in love_ was a riddle to him he wouldn't ever figure out.

Lydia Martin was a girl like no other.

Stiles' hands curled around her face and he bent down to kiss Lydia's swollen lips. His heart skipped a beat – after all these years, he still felt his body react to her like that, whenever she kissed him, touched him, smiled at him. His girlfriend stretched upwards, her arms circling around his neck as she deepened their kiss. Her tongue rolled against his in a dance, letting him taste himself, and he respond by letting his hands wander down from her face around her waist.

With a deep content sound, Stiles briefly stopped the kiss, but let his lips rest against hers. “Want me to finger you?” He asked and skimmed his fingers along the edges of her skirt.

Lydia bit her bottom lip, considering her answer. Usually she never said no to that, though she first came up here to make her boyfriend happy. Stiles started kissing Lydia's cheek, then went down for her neck, way too inpatient to wait for an answer, which reminded Lydia that Stiles enjoyed giving just as much as receiving.

“Yeah, get me off.” She finally answered.

A big goofy smile appeared on Stiles' face, making Lydia actually laugh at him, while he switched their positions and pressed her back first against the wall. He was so close thanking her for letting him finger her, but swallowed the words down right on time.

He stroked his hand down her body again, squeezing her soft flesh on his way, before slipping his fingers underneath her skirt. Immediately, he found her heated center and he pressed his fingers against her through her damp panties. Even through the fabric he could feel how hot and wet she was. “You're so wet, it's crazy.” All he had done was fucking her face and she was dripping for him from it.

Lydia breathed loudly next to Stiles' ear, stirring him on, but before he could go any further, the door right next to them opened. Isaac stood in the doorway, grumbling something like 'so many rooms in this goddamn house'. Stiles stopped his movements and held his breath as if he could make himself invisible by doing so. But of course Isaac spotted the couple immediately, a huge grin formed on his lips, followed by an upcoming laugh. Stiles hand was still underneath Lydia's skirt, showing exactly what they just were doing.

“Stiles!” Lydia bit out and pushed on Stiles' arm. He looked down and only then seemed to notice what he was doing. Quickly he pulled his hand back and took a few steps away from Lydia, who straightened her clothes. They were a couple, it's not like it was anything new they had sex. Nonetheless it didn't make the situation any better. Or less embarrassing.

“Alright, guys.” Isaac laughed, while raising his hands innocently next to his head. “Didn't want to disturb. Keep going, it's okay. I just tell the others you're busy.” The amusement echoed loud and clear in his voice, Stiles considered punching him for it. It had to be Issac, it was always Isaac.

Lydia and Stiles exchanged a look, she was rolling her eyes and he sighed deeply. He finally got closer to his girlfriend again after days of sneaking around each other. And of course Isaac had to barge right into it.

They made themselves presentable, Lydia smoothed her hair down and Stiles buttoned up his jeans, while walking outside the room. The couple went down the stairs and they quickly found their friends outside in the front lawn, where most of the people were partying now. Stiles thought it was only a matter of time until the cops would roll in.

Allison sat close to Scott with him having an arm around her. The uneasy feeling came right back to Stiles' gut, but he tried to remember everything Lydia had said to him. They liked each other, it wasn't about him. He wouldn't lose any of his friends, not his best friend, not his newfound brother. Nevertheless he kept his gaze away from the two. Just because he accepted it, didn't mean he had to watch it happening. Stiles seriously hated himself sometimes.

Lydia led him to their usual group as well as Danny and some guy Lydia didn't know. Isaac welcomed them both with a wink and a grin. No one else hinted at them, so Isaac seemed to have kept the little incident by himself, which was unusual for him but Lydia certainty didn't mind.

“We wanna play truth or dare and you two can't hide away from that.” Allison announced in a happy voice. She seemed a little more drunk. And Stiles knew from experience Drunk Allison was the most dangerous one. So she was right, he couldn't sneak his way out of this one.

“Come on, get something to drink.” Kira said next and pushed in the exact same moment a beer bottle to each Lydia's and Stiles' front. Stiles welcomed it and took his first gulp out of it.

Lydia straightened up, tossed her messy curls over her shoulder and looked in the round. “Since I didn't even get asked if I wanted to play-”

“You always wanna play.” Isaac interrupted teasingly.

“I've decided I'm gonna start.” Lydia ended her sentence without acknowledging her friend's words. Her eyes scanned over everyone until her gaze locked with Danny's. “Truth or Dare. And don't you Dare me now, because I wanna hear some secrets about you tonight.” Lydia grinned devilishly at the boy in front of her, who in return shrugged his shoulder.

“Aw well, if you ask so nicely..” Danny blinked at Lydia. “Then I'm gonna take the dare.”

Lydia rolled her eyes, making Stiles proud beside her, because she definitely got that from him. She had a smile on her lips though and after a quick thought, she dared him to take a photo of his naked butt and sent it to someone, who wasn't involved in the game. The others laughed as Danny openly took the shot and sent it to his previous lacrosse coach from the other school.

They took turns, making sure everyone was involved so no one felt left out. Which was mostly, because they all wanted to see the other putting up with a dare or telling some secrets about themselves. As always they started off slow, asking questions, which weren't really hard to answer. But the more they got into the game all the intimate things started to drop.

It started with Kira, who got dared by Danny to kiss Allison on the lips, which she did without even thinking much about it. It wasn't their first time playing this game, so they were almost used to share little kisses. It wasn't until Lydia asked Scott about his first time, that things got really interesting.

“I actually didn't do it yet.” He had said and caused silence around them. It wasn't like he was the only virgin in the round, though no one really had expected him to say it just like that. He told them he had done a few things with girls, but it never came to the actual act. And when Lydia asked about what he's done so far, he only grinned teasingly and said she had to ask him that again the next time he picked truth, if she really wanted to know. Lydia laughed at that, his answer reminding her so much of Stiles, she started to believe they really were brothers after all.

When it was Isaac turned, he picked Stiles, who decided on truth. Isaac didn't say anything, but Stiles could see it in the way the other looked at him, that it would be no way enjoyable for him. He suppressed a sigh.

“Alright. So, Stiles..” Isaac started, a wicked grin on his lips all the while. He pretended to think about a question to ask for a moment, before speaking up again. “Oh, I know. How about.. what were you and Lydia doing in that room upstairs, when I found you?”

The others started giggling and whooping at them.

Stiles briefly closed his eyes after he heard the question. He should have known. It was Isaac after all. “You know what we were doing.” He answered in a nonchalant voice. He hated his friends sometimes.

“Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it out loud.” A chuckle ended Isaac's sentence.

Stiles let his tongue roll over his lips as he looked over to Lydia. He picked truth, so he had to tell it, but after all it was just a game and he really didn't want to speak out loud that Lydia was blowing him upstairs. The question was for him. So he should tell the other something about what he had done and not Lydia. He didn't want to embarrass her.

“Gimme another question.” Stiles decided.

“What? No, these are the rules. You-”

“I sucked him off and then he tried to return the favor, but you were rudely interrupting us.” Lydia spoke up, not even blushing while she did so. She was Lydia Martin, she wouldn't allow to feel embarrassed about telling everyone what she had done. She proudly drowned the last gulp of her beer, before standing up. “I'm gonna get another drink.” She announced and then walked off. Her head up high and her hips swinging. Stiles looked after his girlfriend with a smirk on his face.

Isaac cackled, getting an even better answer, than he imaged. All he had seen was Stiles' hand beneath Lydia's skirt. And he wanted to tease the hell out of them for that, but Lydia just gave him so much more. He clapped in his hands and looked over to Stiles. “Hey, Lydia answered for you. So I guess you need another question to answer.” He stopped for a dramatic pause, before continuing. “Tell us, how was it?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. Isaac was always up for things like that, but he wouldn't play along. “I won't brag about that, just let it go.”

“So it was good, yeah?”

Stiles ignored Isaac, his eyes falling on Jackson, who stood near Lydia. He heard Isaac say something else, but it was more like a background noise and he couldn't quite catch it. Not that he was interested in anything Isaac had to say at the moment anyway.

He kept his gaze on Lydia, tried to keep his calm and not walk over there, because he knew Lydia didn't like it, when he acted out like that in front of so many people. So he stayed put, which didn't mean he liked it. His girlfriend didn't look pleased at all. She kept shoving at Jackson's chest to get him out of her way, but he wouldn't let. Stiles bit his lip and curled his hands to fists. He was so done with Jackson's games.

Stiles waited a little longer, he put all the patience he had together, kept _himself_ together for Lydia. And he almost did it. He'd almost managed to keep his cool, even though Jackson was touching his girlfriend and then his hand was grabbing at her ass and he didn't let go even though Lydia tried to get away from him. And that's when he saw red.

“Hey, what's up with you? Stiles?” Isaac asked as Stiles stood up and went straight forward without saying another word. Isaac's gaze followed Stiles' direction, catching sight of Jackson in front of Lydia immediately. “Fuck, Stiles, wait!” He yelled at his friend and pulled himself up. He slipped on the grass and landed on his hands and knees, the drunkenness not helping him much on getting up. And maybe the weed he'd found in Danny's bedroom wasn't a good idea either.

Through Isaac the others looked over to Stiles as well, but they could only do as much as Isaac; watching Stiles' fist drawing back and slamming right into Jackson's cheek. Lydia shrieked in shock. She hadn't even seen Stiles coming up. It wouldn't have changed anything though, even if she had seen him.

“Motherfucker!” Jackson screamed and didn't even hesitate to grab Stiles by the collar of his shirt. They both fell to the ground and Jackson got a good punch to Stiles' face, but he was quick to react and pulled his knee up between them to push Jackson off of him.

Stiles landed another punch, his knuckles turning red from the impact of Jackson's cheek, but that didn't stop him. He was done with Jackson, done with his bullshit. He'd watched way too long without doing anything. His hurting hand turned out to be actually satisfying because it meant Jackson was feeling the same pain.

“Can someone please stop them?!” Lydia yelled upset. She wanted to separate them, wanted to stop them, wanted to do _anything_. Though the only thing she could do was uselessly watching both boys fight each other.

Their friends were arriving next to her, Allison and Kira close by her side. Isaac and Scott tried to pull the fighting boys off each other, but Isaac got a punch to his stomach himself as Jackson freed himself only to get right on Stiles again.

Both fell down on the ground again, neither of them aware of the little crowd building around them. Stiles received another punch to his face and he felt his lip crack up. The taste of blood filling his mouth riled him up even more. He pinned Jackson to the ground and let him feel the exact same thing as he did.

Danny was about to grab Isaac and Scott again to try a second time to separate them, but then he saw flashing light coming down the street and he knew he screwed up. A police car parked at the side of the road and three deputies stepped out of it.

“Alright, we were getting called by the neighbors and now I can see why. Who's responsible for that party here?” The female deputy asked into the round. She didn't get an answer and she quickly discovered why, as she walked closer to the crowd around Jackson and Stiles.

“Shit, Haigh, Parrish, come here, there's a fight.” She yelled for her partners and they rushed to her side. Together they pushed their way through the mass of people. Graeme and Parrish pulled up Stiles, who was about to let his fist thrust back into the others face. Jackson got pulled to his feet as well, Haigh standing beside him.

And though both boys were getting held by the deputies now, they still didn't stop. They tried to struggle away in hope to get one last good punch at each others face. The deputies were quick to react though, they didn't put up with it long, instead putting them in handcuffs. Even if they would escape out of one of their holds now, they couldn't do anything to each other anymore.

Parrish let go of Stiles and took a step back to get a look at the boys. Their clothes were dirty from rolling around the ground, their fists red and bruised, but what Parrish shocked most was the face he saw as soon as he looked up. “Stiles?” He asked in disbelieve. Parrish worked close to Stiles' dad, he was actually great friends with him, and seeing his son all roughed up after a fist fight now made him realize how bad the situation here really was.

With a shake of his head, the deputy pointed to the car with his thumb. “I'm gonna call the Sheriff.” He informed his partners.

Haigh, who was new at the station and didn't knew, who Stiles was, looked at each teenager and asked. “What are your names?”

None of the boys answered, so he pulled slightly at Jackson's arm where he was holding him. Jackson rolled his eyes, before answering with his name. Haigh looked back to Stiles, who had a numb expression on his face.

“Boy, just gimme your name. It isn't that hard.”

Stiles scoffed, already tired of the guy. His dad had told him about him, said he wasn't sure if he should keep him there, because he liked to bent the rules a bit. Stiles didn't like corrupted guys like that, that's why he didn't want to cooperate. “My dad's gonna be here any second. He'll handle everything, don't worry about that.”

Deputy Haigh barked out a fake laugh. “You think your dad can help you out here? Your already deep in trouble, boy. Just tell me your name now and I forget your stubborn behavior, alright?”

Stiles wasn't impressed. He kept looking at the deputy, his face blank of any emotions. He knew, he shouldn't do that. But he was still pissed at Jackson and this guy really didn't make himself likable. So Stiles couldn't resist mocking him.

With a sound, that almost sounded like a growl, Haigh let go of Jackson and went over to Graeme and Stiles. “Take over.” He told Graeme in a rough voice, gesturing to the other teenager.

“Just let it go, the Sheriff is-”

“I said take over.”

Graeme shared a long look with her colleague, she didn't like getting pushed around like that, but she couldn't start an argument in front of everyone. She would save it for later. With a last stare, she went over to Jackson and slung a hand around his biceps.

Haigh build himself up in front of Stiles, reminding the teenager so much of Jackson at the moment. A dumb guy, who tried to play off. “You really wanna get on my bad side, huh?”

“I don't want anything.” Stiles remarked with a roll of his eyes.

For a second Haigh didn't react, but then he put both his hands on each of Stiles' shoulders and pushed him back a few steps. “You started a fight with the wrong deputy.” He said and squeezed Stiles' arms until it hurt. Stiles didn't show it though.

He huffed out a laugh through his nose, before looking up. “You really threatening me right now in front of everyone? Me, a minor in handcuffs, who can't fight back? Even for a new deputy, who's working on trial, should know that's not gonna pay off.”

Haigh blinked in surprise, clearly not knowing where Stiles got that information of him. He opened his mouth, but Stiles spoke up again. “My name is Stilinski, if you really wanna know.” He whispered and a smirk played on his wounded lips right after that.

The deputy furrowed his brows, let his hands drop and swallowed thickly. He maybe hadn't known the Sheriff's son before, but of course he had talked to his co workers at the station and they had told him a lot about Stilinski and how is son was everything left for him.

Only a few minutes after that, the Sheriff's car pulled up next to one of his deputies.

“What's the matter?” The Sheriff grumbled as soon as he closed the door to his car. “Can't you handle a simple house party fight?” He added, while walking next to Parrish. No one answered. There was a little crowd around them, curious faces starring at him and the other deputies. Noah ignored them, looking for the guys who came into a fight instead. Parrish hadn't told him the whole truth as to why he actually wanted him there.

When Noah's eyes landed on two familiar looking boys standing handcuffed to each side of a deputy, he didn't understand anything anymore. “Why the hell is my son handcuffed?” He yelled at no one particular and pointed at Stiles, who had his eyes trained on the ground. He didn't feel guilty, neither did he regret doing what he did, yet he wasn't able to look his father in the eye. His little success against Haigh quickly forgotten by now.

“Get him out of the goddamn handcuffs!” The Sheriff barked at Deputy Haigh, who was still standing motionless beside the Sheriff's son. The loud voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he immediately got the key to free Stiles out of the handcuffs.

The teenager rubbed his wrists. He still couldn't look at his dad, so instead he turned his gaze back to Jackson, who spoke up. “What about me?”

Noah ignored Jackson's objection. He turned his head to Parrish and asked him about what happened. Parrish looked uncomfortable, but answered in a whisper. “From what I heard the teenagers talk about Stiles seemingly started the fight.”

A deep sigh escaped out of Noah's mouth and he pinched the bridge of his nose. That's what he'd feared. It wasn't the first time these two came into a fight, but it certainty was the worst one so far from what he could see of the injuries.

“Hey! What about me?” Jackson asked again with an angry snap. No one moved out of their seemingly frozen spot and the Sheriff still kept his attention on Parrish. “He was the one, who started the fight! I didn't do anything and this maniac started to punch in on me.”

“I started it?” Stiles scoffed. “Yeah, because you couldn't keep your filthy hands by yourself, fucker!” Haigh put a hand on Stiles' chest to keep him from going further in Jackson's direction. Stiles huffed unimpressed, but took a few steps back anyways.

“Enough!” Noah barked and looked back and forth between the teenagers.

Jackson faked a laugh. “Oh, that's how it is. I get it. Poor little bitch can't take care of himself and needs his daddy to help him out of trouble.”

Stiles' head whipped around, there was so much he liked to say and do to Jackson, but he really didn't want to piss off his dad even more, so he bit his tongue and swallowed every respond down. He could do that, he could bare his pride getting hurt, as long as he kept Lydia out of it.

Unfortunately, Jackson knew Stiles' weakness as well.

“You know, next time I'm makin' a move she'll welcome it. Because which girl wants a boyfriend, who can't even handle himself.”

Everyone in that little mass of people, who knew Stiles saw it coming before it happened. Yet no one was able to prevent it. He slipped past Haigh and everything seemed like in slow motion and simultaneously too fast to stop him, as Stiles' closed fist hit Jackson's nose. A loud crack echoed through the night, making Stiles feel sickly satisfied.

Jackson cried out loudly and tried to cover his bloody nose with his hands, but they were still handcuffed behind his back.

“Stiles!” Noah roared loud enough to make Stiles flinch. He went up to him with quick steps and then pulled him away from a crying Jackson with a rough grip on his arm. “Are you out of your goddamn mind?! Do I really have to arrest you in front of half the town? You want me to put you into cuffs while everyone's watching. You want that?”

The Sheriff couldn't help but yell. Usually he always tried to keep his calm with his son, but at some point there was no understanding left. If the town's sheriff couldn't even handle his own kid, how could he then protect the city?

“Answer me!” Noah demanded, his face red with anger.

“No.” Stiles said quietly. He felt humiliated and angry and sad, and all he wanted to do was grab Lydia and hide with her forever.

Noah shook his head at him and Stiles' heart broke in two at his father's expression. He'd seen it a lot. Disappointment. But never like this.

“Parrish, get him in my car.” The Sheriff said in a calmer voice. “In the backseat, where he belongs.”

Parrish appeared on their side in seconds and Stiles followed blindly, as Noah pushed him over to the deputy. Stiles felt Parrish's hand on his arm in a strong but gentle hold, though Stiles didn't feel like running away anymore.

He felt like the worst son ever. Probably because he was.

Noah took a moment to breath. His job was always a hard one, but nothing could compare to this situation. There were a bunch of (gossiping) people around him and he had to treat his son like any other rebelling teenager.

“He broke my nose!” Jackson's crying brought the Sheriff back to his senses and he gave him a quick look over. Yeah, his nose bled pretty badly, maybe the kid was right. Noah walked up to him and Jackson welcomed him with a furious look. “Where are my people? Why's no one calling them? I can't wait to tell them that they need to report the fucking son of the sheriff for an act of violence.” A wicked grin played on Jackson's face, making him look crazy with all the blood over his lips.

The Sheriff crossed his arms over his chest. What Stiles had done was stupid and Noah surely would have a serious talk with his son. But he knew what kind of person Jackson was and he wouldn't let him get away with it.

“You can tell your parents whatever you want, Jackson, but if I'm going around here and ask people if you touched Lydia without her permission and their answer should be yes, then I can guarantee you, you gonna have it so much worse than Stiles.”

The words had the effect Noah had hoped for, because Jackson shut his mouth and turned away.

One case closed, follow the next. “Who's throwing that party?”

“I am.” Danny raised his hand for the Sheriff to see, before letting his arm fall to his side again. He would get in so much trouble now, but Danny had never been one to hide. He watched Stiles' dad coming in his direction and he braced himself.

Though the next voice he heard wasn't the one he expected. “That's Danny, he just moved here. He's the one, who helped me the other night, you know?” Lydia said quickly. She didn't want Danny to get in trouble just because of her boyfriend. He had been nothing but nice to her, he didn't deserve it.

Noah sighed audibly and took a glance toward Lydia. “He helped my son's girlfriend and now I owe him?”

Lydia raised one of her shoulders innocently, but couldn't stop the little grin that formed on her lips. The Sheriff nodded slowly and turned to Danny again. “I think you're a good guy, that's why I'm gonna ignore that party here, alright? Throw all the people out though, I don't wanna come back here.” It sounded more like a tired plead than a thread.

Danny's face brightened and he laughed relieved. “Thank you so much, really thanks and yeah, of course, I'm gonna end this.”

It wasn't Noah's job to make this poor kid's life harder. He was new here, wanted to impress his classmates and threw a party. The Sheriff knew it hadn't been Danny's intention someone gets hurt.

He desperately wanted to get out of that scene, so Noah made sure Lydia got a ride with one of her friends – he simply couldn't allow Stiles to have her sleeping over after pulling a stunt like that – and told Danny again to send all people home. He called for Scott, who quickly made his way over.

The Sheriff told Graeme to take Jackson home, before joining Parrish at his car.

“You take over for tonight, alright? I need to be home now.”

“Of course, Sheriff.” Parrish agreed immediately. He knew the situation at the Stilinski home and had every kind of understanding. He even respected his boss for the way he managed to handle Stiles on his own. And if he could help in any way, he would do it without questioning anything.

With Scott in tow, he got in the car. Stiles sat quietly in the backseat, his running mouth would get him only further in trouble, therefore he kept it shut for once. He could see his father was pissed. He tried to hold it back in public, but Stiles was sure he'd get a speech as soon as they would be home.

Scott felt uncomfortable. He was pretty sure as well there was a storm up coming, and again, he was the one who stood in between. He wanted to tell Noah, Stiles wasn't at fault. Jackson really had gone too far and even though Scott wasn't a violent person, he would have done the same for Lydia, if Stiles hadn't been there to do it.

The drive back home was silent, though Stiles could see his father wasn't calming down at all. His hands were gripping on the steering wheel and Stiles caught him looking at him through the mirror every now and then.

At home, the three of them went inside the house. Stiles didn't even try to walk past his dad and up the stairs. He went into the living room and sat down beside Melissa, who was surprised to see Noah at home so soon, that was until her eyes fell on Stiles and she saw his upcoming black eye, his split lip and the bruise on his cheek.

Scott sat himself on the free armchair. He didn't want to get in between Stiles and his dad, but simultaneously felt like he had to stay to give Stiles some back up, if needed to. His mom looked at him in question, but all he did was shrugging one shoulder. She would know soon enough what had happened.

“Where's Elias?” Noah asked in a rough voice. It was clear to see (and hear) he tried to keep his calm.

“Upstairs.” Melissa answered. “He said he wanted to read in bed and I welcomed a break from him to be honest.”

Noah only nodded at that. He stood in the middle of the living room, he was way too upset to sit down. His hand rubbed over the back of his neck, while he tried to find the right words for Stiles' behavior this night.

Stiles was a good kid. He was loyal to his friends, honest, always ready to help people, who needed help. He was smart, had good grades in school. On that matter, Noah couldn't be prouder. But Stiles was also trouble. A lot of trouble. And the Sheriff was strong, he really was, but he almost reached his limits tonight.

It was all too much. His sick, but abusive father being in his home, all the work he had to do, Stiles nightmares and now his son started fights with Jackson again.

“Are you hurt?”, was the first thing the father asked after a few moments of silence. He was mad, but he would always make sure Stiles wasn't hurt.

“No.” His eye hurt like hell and his cheek stung, but it was bearable.

Silence surrounded them again. And even though Noah hadn't said anything yet, Stiles wanted to defend himself. What was he supposed to do? Jackson had his hands all over Lydia, probably said things to her, he didn't even want to think of. He couldn't just stand around and let it happen. Stiles knew all Jackson wanted was a fight and he gave it right to him, but Stiles was sure as well he didn't intend to leave the party with a broken nose either, so..

“Dad, I know you-”

“No, you don't get to talk right now.” Noah threw in without letting Stiles finish. “You have no idea how mad I am right now.”

Stiles bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood. Or maybe his lip was still bleeding, he wasn't sure. He wanted to keep his mouth shut. He really wanted to try, but he couldn't. “It was fucking Jackson! He kept touching Lydia and-”

“And you broke his nose, when he stood there defenseless with his hands cuffed behind his back! That's what you did!” Noah's voice raised, showing just how little patience he had left. He'd had some fights in his youth as well, but never he had acted out and punched someone after the fight out of pure rage.

Stiles had his reasons though. “You heard what he said!”

Reasons the Sheriff couldn't understand.

“But I don't care what he said! All I care about is what you did and you punched him right in the face in front of everyone after I let you out of your handcuffs!” That was the worst part. He had stood up for Stiles and right the second after, he regretted doing so. The consequences slapping him right in the face.. or Jackson's face.

“I can't ignore it when he says things like that about Lydia.” Stiles tried to argue.

Noah scoffed and shook his head. His son was so stubborn, it was hard teaching him any lesson that way. He ruffed the short hair on his head, before continuing. “But you're supposed to ignore it, because you can't just walk around and throw punches at everyone who says something you don't like. That's not how it works!”

Stiles fell silent after that. It was the first time, he didn't know what to say, because his dad got a point. But Stiles still thought he had every right to do what he's done. Jackson was one of those people, but thought they could get away with everything. And Stiles was all but ready to show him he was wrong.

With a heavy sigh, Noah leaned against the wall. He felt like all the trouble of the past days were crashing in on him this very moment. He felt as tired as he did the night Claudia had died. “Life is hard on you, we all know that, but that's no excuse to let your anger out on other people.” He said to his son, sounding calmer again.

“You talk like that's everything I do, but I don't. And you know that, dad. Jackson fucking deserved it and I'm not sorry.”

“That's self justice, Stiles!” The father pushed himself from the wall again to walk over to the teenager. He had a feeling it didn't matter what he said, but he still wanted to try. “It doesn't matter if you think he deserved it. It doesn't matter if Scott, Lydia or I think he deserved it. It's not about your goddamn pride either.”

“It's not-”

“Stop it! We both know you only waited for a reason to get on Jackson. You're up for nothing else but trouble. Are you enjoying that? I really would like to know.” Noah's gaze burned itself into Stiles' eyes and the boy had trouble keeping up with it, but in the end he managed to not look away, even though he felt terrible.

“I don't wanna cause any trouble.”

“But you do! Constantly. And I don't know what to do about that. All you do is getting angry and isolate yourself. I try to reach out to you, but I'm not able to get you back on tracks.”

“Seriously, dad?!” Stiles asked, his annoyance raising now as well. He stood up mid talking, wanting to get on the same level as his dad as he walked over to him. “I've been trying so hard these past weeks. I gave benefit to Melissa, tried to get along with her. The same with Scott. I swallow down every paranoid feeling I've got, just to show you I'm fucking trying. And then there's one slip up-”

“One slip up? One?! You say you try making process with Melissa, but all you do is ignoring her and make her feel bad.”

“Noah..” Melissa gently interrupted, but her partner didn't let himself stop. She knew he would regret everything he said later on. It wasn't in Noah's nature to be angry and insulting.

This time though, he needed to say anything that came to his mind. Stiles wouldn't understand it otherwise. He had to hear the facts. “You keep giving teachers snarky comments, make them angry on purpose and end up having detention. You have sex in school, only waiting to get caught again. They kicked you out of the Lacrosse team for that, isn't that enough? You're fighting with Lydia, you hurt her, because you can't handle yourself at the moment. And not only tonight, no, for the past week you start fights with Jackson again. This is not one simple slip up, Stiles!”

And again, the teenager didn't reply. Every single word his dad had said felt like a train rushing towards him and getting closer and closer until finally running him over in the end. Only that Stiles wasn't dead. No, he felt every amount of pain. His heart hurt, his eyes stung with tears. It hurt more than any punch he received from Jackson.

Noah breathed heavily after his rant. He calmed down within the stretching silence, but didn't feel any better than his son did. He took a few steps back and sat on the free spot beside Melissa, where Stiles had been before.

He had always handled it pretty well being a single parent. He listened to everything his son had to say, he helped him, learned to make a proper dinner, took his time for anything school related even if he should rather be at work. He always made sure Stiles came first.

But it wasn't easy. Never. And in times like this, he wished Claudia would still be here. Of course he had Melissa now. But everything was still new and though Stiles did most the things Melissa said he should do, he wouldn't respect her in a conversation like that, Noah was sure of it. So he had to handle it himself. Had to take over the understanding part, the teaching part, but the mad parent part as well.

“She's always known it.” Noah quietly said as he sank back into the cushion of the couch. “She did call you Mischief for a reason.”

Stiles face twisted in pain and he turned around to look at his father. “Don't go there.” He couldn't bear talking about his mother now.

“Why? Do you think she would be happy with the way you're handling things now?”

The words hit right in Stiles' weak spot, the one which was already bleeding and hurting like hell. If he lived for one thing, then it was to make his mother proud of him. Though how could he, when even his own dad didn't see anything else than disappointment in him.

One tear dropped over his cheek. Sadness taking him over. He couldn't stand it. So the usual thing he did was getting angry instead. “Fuck that! How can you say something like that, huh? She's my mom, not someone you can use against me!” He started screaming, causing everyone to get startled.

His dad looked like he wanted to answer something, even though he was still blinking in surprise.

Stiles though couldn't take one second longer in the room. He felt like walls were coming closer, daring to squash him within old memories. His breathing hitched and he had trouble focusing. By now he knew the signs of an upcoming panic attack. He swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of the anxious feeling. But he felt it getting worse with each second.

Stiles took the first steps out of the living room, and though his panic attack crept on him, he couldn't help but turn around to add: “And don't call me like that ever again.” It only was a nickname, but it was the one his mother had chosen for him and after his dad said all these things to him, he couldn't bear hearing it coming out of his mouth.

He didn't stay to hear a respond, instead made his way out of the house. He went from the living room straight up to the front door and let it close loudly behind him like every outraging teenager would have.

His pulse was pumping wildly, he could hear it in his ear and it was driving him crazy. A heart beat represented life and joy, but Stiles had always hated that sound. For him, it was panic attacks and anxiety.

Stiles walked a few steps away from the house, didn't get father away than to the street though, as his breathing got worse. He knew it was stupid to leave when he was about to get a panic attack. But usually he handled them on his own anyway. Though this time, it didn't feel like he was calming down any time soon.

His hand was shaking heavily as he raised it to his chest and covered his heart. He buried his fingers in his shirt, hoping his racing heart beneath his palm would slow down, but it didn't. Stiles let out a sob, the tears running now freely down his cheeks.

He closed his eyes, when he started feeling dizzy. His mind drifted to Lydia, to happy moments with her. He did the best he could to not think of his dead mother, his disappointed dad, his pitiable self. It was no use though.

His head started spinning, he couldn't breath anymore, which made him panic even more. He reached his hand out trying to find old on something, someone, but there was nothing near him he could reach.

Stiles tried to call out for his dad.

Another choking sound left his throat instead, as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Everything left was darkness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Facts:  
> Deputy Haigh was the one, who tried to kill Parrish by burning him alive in 4x09.  
> Deputy Tara Graeme got sacrificed by the Darach/Jennifer in 3x09. Stiles later on said to his dad, she was the one who always helped him with homework, whenever he had to wait late for his dad at the station.


	9. The Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rather calm. There's lots of talking, love and self reflection. The next one will be pretty heavy, that much I know already, so I think everyone deserved the calm before the storm. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I've been struggling since it's just a filling chapter.  
> -  
> !MAJOR THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO LEFT LOVELY COMMENTS AND HELPED ME FEEL BETTER! Seriously, I'm drowning in your love right now. Isabella, who's always one of the firsts to comment. KailaniAce and Mae, who are ALWAYS writing huge paragraphs and making a real recap of my chapter (love that!). Smallbeans who writes beautiful stories herself and still keeps complimenting me for my writing. Lucy31, bless her for bringing a smile to my face and showing so much interest, she even contacted me on twitter. Thanks to Melissa, driftingskies237 and Rachael, because they actually made me cry happy tears. Also thanks to everyone who leaves a smaller comment every now and then. I'm sorry this note is blowing up, but I had to express how grateful I am and thank everyone properly.  
> -  
> Song: The Rolling Stones – Laugh, I nearly died

When Stiles was a kid he hurt himself on a daily basis. He ran too fast, stumbled over his own feet, ran against furniture, bumped into people. His constant energy never letting him slow down. He scraped his knees, wounded his hands, fell on his face and got bruises all over his body, but that never stopped him.

Once he pretended to be Batman, climbed up a tree, whilst fighting against the wicked Joker. He had been so close to winning the fight. But then he suddenly lost balance – Joker was probably playing tricks on him – and he fell down the tree. It wasn't high, but enough to land on his leg in a weird angle. He had been six, that was his first time being in a hospital again after his birth.

It didn't stop with a broken leg. When he was 8, he sleepwalked and fell down the stairs. He'd been lucky to only break his hand during his fall. With 13 he had his skateboard phase, where he sprained his foot once or twice.

As a kid he had thought there was nothing worse than needing to stay in a hospital bed all day long. He wanted to explore the whole building, was curious. But when he had another injure with 16, a broken arm the cause of a rough lacrosse game, he knew better. He hadn't known as a kid, he _couldn't have_ known. Because he still had his mom during that time.

But after his mother's death, he knew there was nothing worse, than being at the hospital – not because he was hurt, but because someone he loved was. Sitting at the edge of his mom's bed every day after school. Doing his homework halfheartedly in her room and stealing Reese's out of the vending machine to eat at least something.

He'd never understood why his mom always asked him to be more careful, hadn't known why she always worried. He did know now though. He got it. And he wanted to apologize to his mom for making her worry about him, wanted to tell her he understood.

_Stiles, sweetie, I love you and every facet of you, but please try to be more careful. Can you do that? You're so brave, but I'm not, I can't see you hurt like this. You're gonna be careful next time?_

“Sure, I promise, mom.” Stiles mumbled sleepily. His eyes felt heavy, but he forced himself to open them to look at his mom. He blinked to the right side of his bed, then to the other. There was no one there. He was alone. His mom wasn't with him.

Sadness spread in his chest as he realized he'd only dreamed of his mom. It felt so real. He could still feel the lingering touches, whenever she had stroked him gently through his hair. Lydia sometimes did it the same way. And he would always bury his face in her neck and hug her close.

Stiles slowly sat up. His body hurt and he got a headache. He rubbed his fingers over his temple, but flinched with a hiss, when he touched a seemingly wounded area.

His brows furrowed. He was confused and couldn't put all the pieces together yet. He remembered being at Danny's party. And he drunk a bottle or two, but not that much to blackout and wake up in the hospital again.

Cautiously he slipped out of bed. His eyes instantly looked down over his body. He was in the same clothes as yesterday. His shirt got blood stains he couldn't explain.

He felt a little dizzy getting up. He blamed it on lack of water, so he made a grab to the water bottle on the table next to his bed. He filled the cup and drowned it, only then noticing how thirsty he really was. He filled the cup again.

Stiles made his way over to the bathroom attached to his room. Even though he'd felt like he didn't drink anything the last past hours, he still was in desperate need of the toilet. He used it and then went over to the sink to wash his hands. The mirror he'd ignored while walking in the room, now showing a beat up face. His face.

"Holy motherfucking shit." He mumbled to himself and leaned forward to get a better look at his injuries. His lip was split, he got a red bruise on his cheek and a blueish one around his eye. And on the side of his head, where he'd touched it before, was a stitched up wound.

Bit by bit last night flashed behind his eyes. He remembered fooling around with Lydia, playing the stupid game and then getting into a fight with Jackson.

He observed his face a moment longer and then pushed himself off the sink.

He got into an argument with his dad, remembered getting yelled at and - oh yeah, right. His heart pulled itself together, as he remembered the words his father said to him. _Do you think she would be happy with the way you're handling things now?_ He'd gone outside to get fresh air after that. But then.. he didn't know what had happened after that. He did his best to concentrate, though it was no use. He couldn't fill the blank.

"Goddammit."

Stiles went out of the bathroom, pulled on his shoes and then walked straight up to the door of his room. He didn't want to stay here any longer. He wasn't a big fan of hospitals and he felt well enough to leave. Besides he was in need of a shower and fresh clothes.

He left the room and looked up and down the hallway, before going left. He knew his way around by now. The hallways were clear of people, only when he reached the registration, he came across other people as well as nurses, who were working there.

"Excuse me?" Stiles spoke up to the woman sitting behind the registration desk. "I just woke up in my room. I'm feeling well, so I was wondering if I could, you know, leave?" He knew it wouldn't be that easy. They needed his dad's confirmation for that. But he thought it was worth a try anyway.

"What's your name?" The nurse asked, ready to type his name into the computer in front of her. Stiles told her his last name and when she found what she was looking for, she nodded shortly. "Wait here, I'm gonna call Dr. Geyer."

Stiles muttered a quick thanks, before walking over to the benches to wait for the doctor. He sighed and scratched his head - avoiding his wound mindfully. He really wanted to know what happened, his memory still not quite recovered.

His leg started to bounce as minutes passed. Stiles eyes wandered around the hallway and over the people in there. He spotted a few people with minor injuries, but what really got his attention were the others, who had worried looks on their faces or even tears in their eyes.

He knew what it felt like to sit there without being able to do anything other than wait for either good or bad news. His dad had been shot once during work and though he'd had enough bad memories with his mom in the hospital, he hadn't been prepared for that. It had happened all of a sudden and to this point his dad was all he'd got left. Stiles never wanted to experience that ever again.

"Mr. Stilinski.. Stiles, right?" Stiles got ripped out of his thoughts by the question. He looked up, finding Dr. Geyer standing beside him.

Stiles stood up and nodded. "Yeah, hey, uhm so I was wondering if I need to stay here. Because I actually feel good right now."

"Did you feel dizzy after waking up?" Dr. Geyer asked without acknowledging Stiles' question. He had a clipboard in his hand, ready to write anything down, Stiles would tell him. The teenager tried to get a look at the paper, but didn't manage to catch a glimpse.

"Uh, well.." Stiles started. He considered lying, but Dr. Geyer looked at him, as if he already knew the answer. "I did feel a little dizzy, but not that long. I drank the water on the table beside my bed and feel better now."

Dr. Geyer's eyed him up, looking for any sign that could give away his actual state of health. But Stiles did feel well. He didn't just say it so he could leave, even though that was something he desperately wanted to do.

"What do you remember of last night?"

Again Stiles answered with a thinking sound first before actually replying with words. "I remember getting into a fight at a party. My dad was pissed at me and we had an argument at home. It was pretty bad."

A nod from the doctor followed with every word Stiles spoke. He wrote something down on his papers, before looking up again. "Anything else?"

"I.. don't really know. I remember getting out of the house after our fight. To get fresh air I guess, but from there on it's kinda blurry."

"I see." Was the only answer Dr. Geyer gave. "Follow me, Stiles."

The doctor started walking down the corridor and Stiles stumbled after him. That's why he always hated talking to docs. They asked questions and demanded a detailed answer, but they themselves never spoke more than two words when it came to giving information.

So Stiles didn't even try talking to Dr. Geyer, knowing he wouldn't get a proper reply anyway. He followed silently, but observing. The doctor lead him into a separate office. He pointed at a chair in front of the desk and Stiles sat down. Against his expectations Dr. Geyer sat in the chair beside him and not in the one behind the desk. They both turned towards each other.

"Here's the deal." Dr. Geyer began and simultaneously placed his clipboard on the desk. He intertwined his fingers and looked at the teenager in front of him. "The fight with your dad triggered you into a panic attack."

Stiles furrowed his brows, because he didn't remember that. But it wasn't really shocking, it wasn't his first and wouldn't be his last attack. "Okay, well that's nothing new." He answered casually with a shrug of his shoulder.

"So you just accept it without trying to work on it?"

"I am working on it. And I'm managing it just nicely as well." Stiles saw the need to defend himself. He knew panic attacks weren't something to just ignore or take as easy as he did. But for him they were almost a part of him, something normal he'd learned to accept.

Dr. Geyer nodded, looking like he knew better and Stiles didn't like it at all. "No one was with you at the time you had your last attack, so we don't know for sure, but it seems like you were struggling so hard to breath, you collapsed at some point. If that's how you manage your episodes, I advise you to change your tactic."

Stiles blinked at that. Well, this definitely _was_ new. That had never happened before. Without even noticing, he reached up and tenderly touched the wound on his temple. He fucking fell on his head, because of his annoying panic attack. Could this get any worse?

"How do you want me to change my tactic?" Stiles asked despite his better judgment. He knew the answer already. He should go to therapy again, talk his feelings out, share his deepest fears with other people in group therapy. Yeah, that was a no for Stiles.

Dr. Geyer suggested just what Stiles had expected, so he had his perfect answer on his tongue already. "Listen, doc. I know you mean well, but I already tried talking to a therapist. It didn't help much. I'm better on my own and it's not like I'm _completely_ alone. I've got my dad and my girlfriend. They're helping me much."

"Except when you have a panic attack on your own. Then there's no one to help you."

Stiles sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. His bruises stung at the touch, but he ignored it. "I usually can take them on my own, okay? That never happened before."

"So it's getting worse." A statement, not a question. And it was pissing Stiles off. Dr. Geyer twisted the words in his mouth. On purpose.

"I'm fine. Can I go home?" Stiles asked, because he didn't see that conversation ending well. They wouldn't agree on that matter. Stiles never ever wanted to go to therapy again. It wasn't like he felt bad _during_ it. But afterwards he always felt weak and open. And the sessions weren't really helping much either.

"Your dad needs to come and sign those papers." The doctor replied calmly and pointed at a file on the desk. Stiles only then noticed his name written on it. "How about I call him and until he's here, we're gonna talk some more?"

It sounded like a question, but Stiles knew it wasn't one. Though he had to give the doc credit on letting him at least think to have a say in this one.

Stiles shrugged one shoulder, since he didn't have a choice anyway. Dr. Geyer stood up, now going behind the desk to make the call. When the Sheriff picked up, he seemed to worry much, because Dr. Geyer immediately assured him everything was fine and that he could take his son home.

The doctor sat on the chair. He faced Stiles and observed him silently. Stiles starred back, showing him that he knew exactly what he was doing.

"What did you do during therapy?" He finally asked, relaxing himself back into the backrest.

Stiles crossed his arms, which he knew looked like a defense position. He didn't care. "We talked a lot. That's nice and all, but I don't need my dad to pay someone to talk to me, if I can just go and talk to him instead."

"Are you talking to him?"

"Yes."

"About everything?"

Stiles hesitated. "Mostly. What I don't tell him, I tell Lydia."

Dr. Geyer took his clipboard to hand and started writing again. Stiles felt vulnerable knowing someone wrote his problems down. It was strange sitting there and just watching the other work out his opinion on him. Ms. Morell, his former therapist, never had done that. She'd always taken notes after their session.

"When did you go to therapy the first time?"

Stiles went seeing doctors since he was a kid. But he guessed Dr. Geyer wanted to know about the therapy of his current problems. "With fourteen, after my mom died. Nightmares, anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks; it all hit me at once and my dad sent me to therapy immediately. We worked out tactics, I could use to calm down and stuff. But other than that it didn't help me much."

Dr. Geyer kept writing, though it looked like he was actually listening. Stiles didn't get why they needed to talk about it. He just wanted to go home and live his life like he had before. He didn't want any therapy sessions or people who claimed to help him. He just wanted to be left alone.

"How long did you go there?"

"For two years."

"And no results?"

"No. Everything got worse over the years. When I turned sixteen I told my dad I didn't want to go there anymore. We worked on it alone and at some point it got somewhat better. Now it's getting worse again. It's always coming in episodes. Some times are easier, some harder. I learned to live like that." Stiles emphasized his last sentence, making it clear, he didn't want to change anything. Of course he wanted it to get better, but he knew only he himself could make that happen. There was no one, who could just take his issues away from him.

Dr. Geyer leaned forward again, he still looked calm, but his eyes had a serious touch now. “Stiles, you need to understand how serious this is. You suffer from mental illness. And it's getting worse, the longer you ignore it.”

“I'm not ignoring it, I'm-”

“Working on it, yes, I know. And I understand you want to make it on your own, but if this goes deeper, and it seems like it does, you could have a real psychiatric disorder for which you maybe need medication or regular therapy to get better. Some things you can't handle on your own.”

“Oh, so I'm a full on nutcase now?” Of course Stiles was aware of the fact, that his mind wasn't 'normal'. He knew there was something wrong, he'd been in Eichen once for a reason (something he didn't want to think of ever again). But he had always hoped whatever he suffered from wouldn't be that bad. That he could go through it as long as it lasts and then never have to worry about it again. A diagnosed disorder meant long term therapy, and he wasn't ready for that. He wasn't ready to hear he needed to take pills for the rest of his life.

The doctor ignored Stiles' sarcasm, he was used to any kind of patients by now. “Stiles, this isn't something you have to feel uncomfortable with or be ashamed of.” He says, his voice soft and understanding. He took the folder in front of him and quickly read it over. “You're ADHD diagnosed, right?” He read from the papers.

“Yeah, why?”

“And you take Aderall regularly?”

“Used to. I don't need it that much anymore.”

Dr. Geyer had a little smile on his face as he closed the folder again. “If a therapist should diagnose another disorder, and I say _if_ on purpose, it wouldn't be any different from your ADHD. You would go to therapy in the beginning. You did that as a kid as well, right?” When Stiles nodded in confirmation, Dr. Geyer continued. “If there's medication you'd need, you would learn when and how to take it. But other then that it wouldn't change much in your life, except that you'd start to feel better. And I'm only talking about the worst scenario. Maybe there's no other disorder and all you need is a little professional help.”

Stiles didn't say anything after that. The doc had a point, and still Stiles didn't want to think of anything like that. He couldn't go back to therapy. He had a feeling, that would make everything worse. He wasn't ready to start all over again. And it wasn't like he couldn't manage his episodes on his own. Maybe Dr. Geyer was right, and he needed professional help for a long term recovery, but until then he would hold up on his own. This was the first panic attack that went wrong, he wouldn't let that happen again.

The doctor didn't need any words to know what Stiles was thinking of. But that was often the first reaction. Sooner or later, he would accept help, and Dr. Geyer could only hope it would be the first. The sooner Stiles started taking it serious, the easier it would be to work something out.

A red light on the phone blinked up, signaling an incoming call. Dr. Geyer picked it up, the nurse on the other side of the line telling him the Sheriff was there. He said his thanks, before ending the call again. He shared a last look with the kid in front of him, then he stood up and walked around the desk again. “Your dad is here.”

Stiles got up immediately. He couldn't wait to get out of there. He felt cornered and angsty. This whole talk about therapy didn't do him any good.

They left the office together, walking beside each other down the hallway without sharing another word, which Stiles was grateful for. They went up to the registration again, where he saw his father leaning on the desk with his arms, one hand on his forehead, while he talked to the nurse in front of him. Stiles was so caught up in his dad's tired looking form, he didn't even notice the nurse he was talking to was indeed Melissa, who seemed to get ready for her shift. He thought it was strange, how Melissa always had been working here, but Stiles never had seen her or at least noticed her. He had spent so much time in that hospital, he wondered why they had never crossed parts before.

As soon as his dad spotted him, he left the desk and walked up to him with big steps. He could see the relief in his father's face, before he got pulled into a tight hug. He barely managed to breath, but he let his dad have the moment. Slowly, he put his own arms around his dad's body. He didn't show it much, but he drowned in the familiar feeling, the familiar scent of his father. He felt like coming home, even though he hadn't left the hospital yet.

“How are you feeling?” Noah asked after their long hug. He put a hand to Stiles' head, angling it in a way, so he could have a better look on the wound at the side of his head. It broke his heart to see his son beat up like that - the black eye, the bruise on his cheek and the split in his bottom lip -, but the worst thing was the stitched up area. Knowing that this was his fault, not Jackson's. He had triggered that panic attack. He had let Stiles walk away, even though he suspected an upcoming attack. Noah never had felt that guilty.

“I'm fine, don't worry.” Stiles usual answer to that question.

Noah noticed the familiar words as well, but chose to not dig deeper for the moment. “Ready to go home?” He asked instead.

Stiles lips pulled up in a little smile. “Yeah.”

The Sheriff patted Stiles' shoulder twice, before turning towards Dr. Geyer. He shook his hand gratefully. It was his job helping people, but Noah felt the need to show his thanks anyway.

“I forgot the papers in my office, if you follow me, you can sign them there, Sheriff.” The doctor said and Stiles eyes turned to little slits as he watched him and his dad walk down the hallway, where they had been coming from earlier.

“Forgot the papers my ass.” He mumbled annoyed.

“Come again?” Melissa asked amused behind the desk. Stiles had completely forgotten she was there as well. He hesitated briefly, before walking over. He gripped the edges of the desk and leaned a little forward.

“He didn't forget the fucking papers, he let them there on purpose, so he could talk to my dad alone. I'm not stupid, why's he like that?” Stiles actually liked Dr. Geyer. He was young, motivated and cool. He made jokes and was relaxed, especially around teenagers. Though this time Stiles couldn't help but feel annoyed by him.

Melissa chuckled quietly, while typing something in her computer. “I think he knows you figured it out, but still tried to be discrete about it.”

Stiles only let out a huff through his nose as an answer.

They stayed silent afterwards. Melissa still typing things into the computer, while Stiles waited impatiently. He wandered up and down, left and right. It felt like hours were passing, when in truth only a few minutes had gone by.

“Hey, Stiles?” Melissa called for him, her voice so gentle, Stiles was afraid of what was coming next. He stopped his mindless walking anyway and looked over to his father's partner, as she asked. “I hope you really are okay.”

Stiles kept looking, as if he hadn't caught what she was saying. But he did hear her perfectly. He wasn't used to having a mother around him anymore. And while he didn't see Melissa as _his_ mother, it didn't change the fact, that she still _was_ one. She had the motherly instinct, knew how it felt to worry about a son. She behaved like a mother around him without even meaning to.

“I am.” He finally answered. Short, but honest.

Melissa nodded, a smile playing on her lips, before she broke their gaze and turned her attention on her work again. She didn't want to pressure him, so she only made sure he was okay, because that was the most important thing. He didn't trust her yet, she knew that, the only thing she could do was show him she cared enough to not leave. Not his dad, not him.

After another minute, his dad came back again. He looked a little worried, though Stiles didn't know if it was more than usual. Dr. Geyer had said the same to his dad, as to him before, he was sure of it. So there was no way, that left his dad unaffected.

Still, Noah didn't say a word (yet). He went over to Melissa once more, said his goodbyes to her and then walked with a hand on Stiles' shoulder outside the hospital. The son followed, not knowing what to say, maybe there wasn't even anything to say.

They sat in the car and the father took off. It was quiet around them for a while, only the radio playing softly in the background. But then Stiles remembered something, he hadn't gotten an answer to yet. His curiosity broke the silence.

"Hey, dad?" Noah hummed an asking sound, signalizing he was listening. "I just wondered.. well, I don't really remember what happened after I left." His question was vague. Technically he didn't even ask a real question.

His dad understood though. He suppressed a sigh, something he did often these past days. He got one hand on the steering wheel, his other brushed over his hair.

"You went outside.. no, I _let you_ go outside. You were panicky, but I thought maybe you just need some space to calm down." His dad's voice was quiet and calm, almost as if he was telling a story he wasn't involved in. "Scott said he wanted to go look for you shortly after. And I.." A scoff left his mouth. "I stopped him and said you just needed time."

Stiles knew exactly what his dad was thinking; he blamed himself. It wasn't his fault though, but it wouldn't matter what Stiles said to him, he wouldn't believe it. So all he did was waiting for his dad to continue. "Scott insisted on going after you, told me, that you always behaved like you didn't want anyone near you, when in truth you'd needed someone with you. I can't believe he knows you better than I do." Noah said it with a smile, but Stiles could see the sadness behind it. "Scott only opened the door, then he was calling for us already. You were.. you were lying in the driveway, there was so much blood.."

Noah didn't finish his sentence and Stiles didn't press further. He took a look at the side mirror, seeing the wound on his head. It did look kinda bad stitched up like that, but it wasn't that big of a wound, which made him wonder how it could have bled so much. Stiles averted his gaze again, looking to the hands in his lap. He didn't want his dad to feel bad, because of a stupid thing he had done himself. He had known he was about to get into an attack, he felt it was worse than usual and still he had left. It wasn't like his dad could've stopped him.

Cautiously, Stiles placed his hand on his dad's shoulder and squeezed it gently, hoping the gesture itself would say more than any words could.

At home Stiles went upstairs, ignoring Elias on the couch. He didn't really want to let his dad alone, but he desperately wanted a shower and fresh clothes. He took a change of clothes from his room and then went into the bathroom. He stripped out of his dirty outfit, put it in the hamper, cut the wrist band of the hospital off his arm and after that, he risked another look into the mirror.

He looked bad. He couldn't remember ever looking that bad actually. He came into a fight or two before, but usually he ended up with a bruise somewhere or a black eye. But never had he had that many injuries. That look even topped his sleepless-night-face, where he was all pale with dark circles under his eyes. He always looked like death then, but this right here somehow looked even worse.

Without another thought to his appearance, he stepped into the shower and let the water on. He actually sighed happily as soon as the water hit him. He had felt dirty and sweaty and bloody, all that went right down the drain now and made him feel weightless.

After his shower he slipped into a pair of sweat shorts and a simple shirt. He wanted to feel comfortable, after these stressful hours. Next he brushed his teeth, getting rid of the taste of beer and blood. And then he finally felt like an actual human being again.

Stiles walked out of the bathroom, intending to go down to his dad and talk to him, but his eyes fell on the boxes stacked up in hallway. He still had to go through his mom's stuff, he hadn't found time (or motivation) to put up with his painful past, though now it suddenly felt like the right thing to do.

His mom would always be a touchy subject, but he couldn't get triggered into panic attacks for the rest of his life just because someone mentioned her during an emotional situation.

Slowly, he knelt down in front of the boxes. His heart hammered wildly in his chest, but it was nothing more than nervousness. He swallowed thickly, yet he didn't hesitate taking the first box off the stack to open it.

It was her painting stuff. His mom had painted the craziest things, for one of them she even won the first price at an art contest. The picture still hung in their living room. Stiles wondered how long colors could be left untouched before they got unusable. His mom was dead for three years now and during her sickness she didn't paint much either. He would ask Lydia about it, maybe she'd get inspired and could use them. If not, he would sort them out.

Stiles pushed the box with the colors to his left side, deciding this one would be for stuff he had no use for and his other side for things he'd like to keep. He didn't like the thought of throwing stuff away that belonged to his mom. But as his dad had said; they couldn't keep it forever stacked up in a room. After all, he loved his mom for who she was, not for what she had owned. And he had enough memories to remember her without boxes full of her belongings.

* * *

His heart still made a jump whenever he opened another box, but it got easier – more or less. It felt final going through all her possessions and deciding on what was worth keeping. He had a lot of things pushed up to his left side. Old magazines his mom loved to read, while cooking; clothes, where Stiles only picked out a self made blanket, loving the idea of giving it to his kid if he ever should have one; her jewelry, he had no use for.

Though it looked like he had most things to his left, there were a few to his right as well. The knitted blanked, he had fished out of the clothing box; a few books of which Stiles remembered were her favorites; CD's and Vinyl he wanted to add to his own collection. It was mostly stuff he thought was more personal. Things he could make a connection with. He didn't need her clothes stuffed into a box beneath his bed, but having a few of her favorite things in his room, like the music and the books, gave him a warm feeling and brought back nice memories.

God, he missed his mom so much.

“Stiles?” His dad's voice came up behind him, sounding cautious and hesitate. “What are you doing here, kiddo?”

Stiles turned to look at his dad, a small smile on his face to show, that everything was fine. He raised the hand he was holding his mom's knitting stuff with. “Just going through mom's things.”

Noah walked up to his son, watching him place the knitting needles and wool back into the box he found it in and then shoving it to his left side to some of the other boxes. The father stepped over the things, carefully tiptoeing so he wouldn't step on something. He then sank down to the floor, a hand on the wall to keep his balance until he landed on his butt in front of Stiles.

“You sure it's a good idea to do this now?” He asked, while placing a hand on top of one of the boxes. Dust covered his hand, as he tried to get a feeling of his past.

“More than ever. It feels right, dad.”

Stiles turned his attention back to his mother's belongings. His dad wordlessly did the same. He opened the box in front of him, looking briefly over the items inside, before fishing out a hairbrush. When Claudia had died, he didn't bring it over his heart to throw anything away. He literally had every single thing of her stacked up in this boxes.

Noah eyed the brush in his hands, a few strands of her hair still stuck between the rigid bristles. Reminding him of Claudia's soft brown hair, he used to stroke over whenever they sat together. It felt unreal to see and _feel_ something of his wife, when the rest of her body was no longer with them. His chest tightened uncomfortably, making him put the hairbrush aside.

“No, not there.” Stiles mumbled and took the brush to lay it on his left side. Unlike to his dad, he didn't seem to notice the little details, his mom's hair the only sign left she actually had existed, placing it without another glance to his side.

“What's the matter?”

“Everything that's here” Stiles gestured to his left. “is sorted out. You can go through it, maybe there are some things we could sell or donate instead of just.. you know, throwing away.” He looked over to the objects on his left, making sure he didn't see anything he'd liked to keep there, before continuing. “And on the other side are the things I wanna keep. I know, I know, it looks like it's too much, but I really wanna-”

“It's okay.” Noah interrupted gently. “I told you to keep everything that's got a meaning to you.” Indeed it was the Sheriff now, who had a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of throwing anything away. He wanted it that way, needed it to happen. But now actually seeing it happen made him feel a little uneasy.

His gaze fell back on the brush with the hair strands in between. How could he manage to throw the only remaining thing of his wife away? He couldn't keep it either though. It just wasn't fair.

When Noah was still young, he always thought his life would turn out better at some point. He had met Claudia and was sure she'd be his cure. He'd had a rough start with his mother and father, so he always imagined his own family being the complete opposite. No bad feelings, just happiness. And while there never was sadness or bitterness because of each other, there was a lot of tragedy no one could have prevented. His beloved wife got sick without any chance of saving her. His son struggled mentally since then.

Life wasn't easy on Noah.

But never would he decide differently. Even though there were really hard times for him, he couldn't be more grateful for the years he'd gotten to spent with Claudia. She had given him just as much happiness, the real feeling of a family and the most important thing to him; his son.

“I was wrong.” Noah said, while changing his position. He dragged himself over to the wall, so he could lean against it, making his back hurt less. Stiles looked over to him, confusion over his face. Before he could asked further, the Sheriff started speaking again. “Your mom? She would be more than proud of you.”

Stiles heart clenched painfully in his chest. He wished he could believe his father's words. “No, you were right. I _am_ making trouble. Constantly. She wouldn't want that.” He looked down to a book he was holding in his hands. He wanted to keep it, but suddenly didn't feel worth having it anymore. He put it to his left.

Noah, knowing how much his wife had loved the book, took it back and added it to the other pile. All the while coming closer, so he could put a hand on Stiles' arm. “Look at me.” He commanded softly.

“I can't.” Stiles croaked.

“Look. At. Me.” He didn't put pressure to his words, but spoke them slowly one by one. It took a while, Stiles' trembling fingers showing his edgy feelings. His nerves wrecking his insides. He didn't want to imagine his mom thinking badly of him. His dad had been right though. Everything he had said. She couldn't be proud of him. There was nothing he did the right way.

Nevertheless, Stiles raised his gaze to his father's.

“It doesn't matter. You, making trouble.” He clarified. “Nothing like that matters. You're my son. You're brave and smart – actually way too smart if you ask me.” A little laugh escaped Noah's lips. “You're doing so well. You've got a great girlfriend and good friends. You're honest with me. You don't lie to me, at least not more than any other teenager.” The Sheriff smirked at his son, squeezing his arm lovingly. “I am so proud of you. And I'm sorry for everything I said last night. It wasn't true.”

Stiles choked on his emotions. He was aware of the love his dad had for him, but he also knew how much pain and despair he caused. He didn't see himself as a good son, there was too much he did wrong and put his dad through. “You shouldn't be proud, I know mom isn't either. I'm getting into fights, I started smoking again, I got detention again next week. I'm totally crazy and dragging you right with me. Don't think I'm not seeing how exhaust you look whenever I scream myself awake at night or-”

“I told you, it doesn't matter.” Again, Noah interrupted him. He needed to, he couldn't let Stiles say all these things. Maybe they were true, but it didn't change anything. Not for the Sheriff. “Have you any idea how much I love you? You're here, right with me. That's all I want. If I had the chance to change you I wouldn't do it. This is who you are and there is nothing wrong with it.”

Noah's eyed were intensive, while he looked at his son in front of him. It hurt him so much to know he was one of the reasons Stiles doubted himself. He shouldn't have said anything of that during their fight. He'd been angry, but that was no excuse to put his own son down. He now would do anything he could to bring him back up.

“Wait here.” The father said and pulled himself to his feet. He put a gentle hand to Stiles' head and stroked him through his damp hair, before walking around him and heading into his bedroom. Stiles blinked after his dad, watching him go into the room. He saw him looking for something in his nightstand.

When his dad came back, he got a small book in his hands and a ring box on top. He sank down on the floor again next to Stiles and sat the little box aside to get a better look at the notebook. Tenderly, he stroked his fingers over the cover, before handing it over to his son.

“What's that?”

“Your mom's diary. She started writing in there after she got the diagnose.”

Stiles gaped at his dad. He had never heard of that diary. Swallowing, he looked down to the little book, that seemed to keep so many memories hidden. It felt unbelievably heavy all of a sudden.

“I'm giving this to you, because your mom thought the same about herself as you.” Noah said, his eyes fixed on the diary in Stiles' hands. “She.. said she turned crazy, hating herself for attacking people she loved because she didn't recognized them anymore.”

“She was sick.” Stiles defended his mother's own words.

“Just as you are.” Noah whispered softly, hoping Stiles would understand it hadn't ever been and still wasn't his fault. “We need to work on that, but you shouldn't put yourself down because of it.”

Stiles frowned. He didn't like hearing it, though he had long accepted that he was indeed sick. Just speaking it out loud always made him feel small and vulnerable. He thought back to his talk he'd had with Dr. Geyer. Thought about going back to therapy, if only for his dad to feel better.

“Here's something else.” His dad spoke up and brought him back to reality. He looked at the little box in his dad's hand and took it gently from him, almost as if he could break if he wasn't careful enough. “It's your mom's engagement and wedding ring.”

Stiles opened the lit of the case, showing off two rings he had seen on his mom's fingers since he was a kid. It was weird seeing them hidden inside the box, he had thought his mom had them with her when she'd gotten buried. “Why didn't she keep them on?” Stiles wondered out loud.

Noah smiled sadly, his fingers stroking over the little diamond on the engagement ring. “I wanted her to. But before she died she'd said to me that she wanted you to have them. To give them to someone you love.”

With wide eyes, which were showing openly his feelings, Stiles starred at his dad, who in return only grinned knowingly. Since Stiles introduced Lydia as his girlfriend he had thought about giving him the rings. Not that he wanted to encourage him on marrying at a young age, but he could see this was so much more than a normal teenage romance. Both Lydia and Stiles acted really grown up in their relationship except for a silly argument or two. Though even adults could fight about the stupidest things sometimes. So Noah was sure, these two would stick together. Of course no one could know that for sure, but he had a pretty good feeling.

Stiles cleared his throat and then closed the ring box again, laying it on top of the notebook. He turned to his dad and closed him into a tight hug. With his arms slung around his dad's shoulders, he buried his face in the soft cotton of his shirt. He was so grateful to have his dad still by his side, he didn't know how to express it, but he hoped his father knew how much he meant to him.

The Sheriff welcomed his son in his arms, giving him the comfort he sought.

* * *

Later on, after he and his dad had worked through most of his mother's stuff, Stiles was laying on his bed. He had his pillows popped up behind his back and leaned against the headboard. The old 'The Rolling Stones' vinyl plate he had found in one of the boxes turned on the record player, the song 'Laugh, I Nearly Died' filling his bedroom walls.

His fingers stroked along the closed notebook he held in his hands. His mom had written _everything_ in there. Her feelings, her thoughts, the pain she had gone through, the little happiness she'd felt on good days. It felt surreal.

He had never really gotten the chance to talk to his mom about her disease. Both her and his dad wanted to keep him away from her as soon as her condition got worse. Of course he still got to see her, but his dad had made sure he never stayed over too long. He'd been mad at them, had been so angry. Now he understood though.

He had said he could handle seeing her like this, talking to her even though she didn't recognize him anymore. His dad had protected him from that, because he knew better. He knew Stiles wouldn't have survived it. And now Stiles knew, too. He'd only gotten a glimpse of how his mom changed bit by bit. And now he was a mess. The teenager didn't want to know where he would be, if he had experienced his mom's full disease.

With shaky hands, Stiles opened the book. The pages feeling smooth underneath his palm, as he caught sight of his mother's handwriting. Carefully he caressed the letters with his fingertips. She had written down her own name, birth date, her parents names, his dad's name along the word _husband,_ just as Stiles' name and the word _son_.

Stiles breathed deeply, before he turned to the first page.

 

_May 14 th, 2013_

_Today I got the diagnose._

_Frontotemporal dementia._

_I knew something was up. Felt it. Noticed it within my strangely changing behavior. Having a diagnose now though, is making it terrifyingly real._

_I'm gonna meet a few doctors later the week. To know what to expect in the upcoming chapter of my life, which will probably be my last. There's no cure. That much I know._

_I don't want to forget anything, but I know it's gonna happen. So, I'm gonna write everything down. My past, my dreams I'm still chasing for a future I will never have, and my journey through the disease._

_I want to remember even when I forget._

 

Stiles choked. He hadn't realized he'd held his breath until his lungs started to burn. He couldn't read this. He felt shaky, he wanted to cry and scream. That's how it all started. And his mom had been so brave. She didn't ask why it was her, who had to go through this. She didn't complain. She didn't pray. She accepted it.

He couldn't read how she just welcomed death with open arms.

Yet, he flipped to the next page.

She wrote a lot about her doctor's appointments in the beginning. In between pages where she thought back of her past. She wrote about her wedding, Stiles' birth and other things – smaller events of her life, they didn't seem magnificent, but maybe they had a deeper meaning to her. He would never know.

Driven by curiosity, he marked the page he was reading before and then skipped to somewhere in the middle. Her writing got sloppier, there were words stroke through or written over, making it harder to read.

 

_March 23 th, 2014_

_I forgot him._

_I tried to hurt him, because I thought he wanted to hurt me._

_I hate myself for it. Hate myself for needing Noah to stop me hurting my own son._

_I'm confused and don't feel well._

_Can't lose him, can't forget him. Never._

_Not him._

_Mischief._

 

The scraping noise of the needle against the vinyl plate turned into a background noise. Stiles remembered that day. He had skipped his last classes to get to his mom sooner. With his red hoodie covering his body, he had ran all the way from school to the hospital. His dad hadn't been in the room when he got there. Just his mom. The whole time he had been there she had eyed him warily. Scooted away from him, when he tried to hug her or actually twitching, whenever he moved too fast.

And at some point, she'd just flipped. From one second to the other, she had thrown herself out of bed and grabbed Stiles by his hoodie. She had screamed at him, insulted him, said over and over again she wouldn't let him kill her. She hadn't even stopped when his dad came in. He had to hold her back or she would've attacked him again.

His dad had explained to him it came from the disease, that he shouldn't take it to heart. And even though Stiles had cried in his dad's arms, he understood. He had known she didn't mean it, but reading her true feelings about that incident made his heart ache even deeper now.

 

_June 9 th, 2014_

_Noah told me, Stiles got an A for his English essay._

_At the beginning, his teacher had been praising him to no end. Not even five minutes later, he got punished with detention. Apparently, Stiles got bored during class and started throwing paper planes and didn't stop, when the teacher was asking him to._

_He's going places with that stubborn mind of his._

_I'm so proud of him._

 

Proud. There was the word again, that seemed to haunt him since last night. She had been proud of him at some point in his life. She had been proud of him, because he was smart _and_ because he wouldn't let himself get stopped by anybody. Maybe she wouldn't like seeing him beat up like that, maybe she would have yelled at him just as his father had done. But in the end she'd still be proud of him. No matter what. He needed to remember that.

Stiles choked out a little laugh, tears welling in his eyes.

“Fuck, I miss you so much.”

He whispered the words into the silence around him, his gaze turning up to the ceiling. She was there, watching him. It had to be like that. What was the purpose of living, if you ended up being nothing but a lifeless corpse in the end?

Stiles pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, forcing the tears to not spill over.

After the short moment, he looked back to the book again. He actually starred at it, seemingly forever, until he opened the book to its last written page.

 

_September 24 th, 2014_

_I was watching the autumn leaves fall down the trees with Stiles today. We spent the whole morning in front of the window, enjoying nature at its finest._

_In the afternoon, Noah joined us after his shift. We were watching “A Nightmare Before Christmas”_ _together on the laptop Noah brought with him._

_Stiles loves that movie. He's got an adorable crush on Sally._

_We spent the rest of the day together until Stiles fell asleep in my arms._

_I watched Noah watching me. We weren't talking, we didn't have to. We both felt it._

_This would be my last day feeling alive. Being myself. With my family._

_Before I'll slip away into the sound of my son breathing next to me._

_A last beautiful, perfect day._

_This would be the end._

 

A loud sob escaped Stiles' throat and before he could stop it, the tears were streaming down his face like an endless river of pain. His heart clenched, he couldn't take it. It was too much, he should've known. Reading about his mother's thoughts, getting to know what she was feeling this whole time, only waiting for death. He wished he would have known sooner. He felt like he didn't do enough while she was still alive.

Stiles curled up on top of his bed, the book pressed against his beating heart.

He didn't even try calming down. He just let it all out. Every tear that needed to spill, every sob. He screamed into his pillow, muffling the painful sound in soft cotton. He wanted to know. He wanted to know if he would ever get over this. It didn't seem to get easier. He was the same mess he had been since the first day without her.

It wasn't until his lungs hurt, he stopped screaming and crying. For a while, all he did was lying there afterwards, calming his breath down. His nose was running and his face damp from tears. He hated being this weak. His dad always called him a fighter, but he wasn't one. Not even a survivor. He felt dead on the inside whenever he was alone. The people he loved were the only thing keeping him alive, but at some point they would realize it didn't make much sense to keep a dead soul by the living.

Outside he heard a familiar rumble, causing him to get up from his pathetic position on the bed to look out of the window. Scott jumped out of his beloved blue Jeep. His brows furrowed deeply until he remembered his dad took him home in the Sheriff's car last night.

Stiles blew his nose and washed his face dry with his shirt, but his eyes were still red. Fortunately, his injuries were drawing the most attention so maybe no one would notice he'd been crying. Shoving the little book beneath his pillow, he steadied his breathing and then got out of the room and down the stairs.

Scott just walked through the door, yelling a 'Hey, I'm home' at no one particular. He stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed Stiles standing at the bottom of the stairs. It only took him a few seconds to get over his shock, before he marched with quick steps to Stiles' uneasy form.

“Thank god.”, he mumbled and wrapped his arms around Stiles' shoulders.

The other boy swallowed thickly, not really knowing what to do. His dad watched them amused from his place on the sofa. He put his arms in front of him, hugging the air to gesture Stiles he should return Scott's hug.

Before he could interact though, Scott was pulling back again. He had a worried look in his eyes, but a gentle smile on his lips. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I guess.” Stiles' voice was hoarse, causing him to clear his throat uncomfortably.

“Here, I got you your Jeep back.”

His key were tangling from Scott's finger in front of his face. He took them in his hands with a genuine thanks. After that, they just stood there side by side. Making it awkward for Stiles, while Scott was just happy to see his brother being healthy.

He'd been the one, who found Stiles in the driveway. Blood pooling around his head, making him look terrifyingly dead. And that's what Scott had thought as soon as he spotted him laying there. Until he had rushed to his side, seeing him breathing shallowly. His mom had been with him in seconds as well, calming him down and telling him that especially head wounds could bleed badly even if there weren't big, which had been the case with Stiles.

And though it all had looked worse than it actually was, after seeing Stiles laying there like that, Scott couldn't stop looking at Stiles, making sure he really was fine.

Stiles scratched his neck in an unsure manner, not knowing what to do or say. He clamped his fingers around his keys, reminding him of what he wanted to do since he stopped crying pathetically to himself.

“I uhm.. I wanted to go see Lydia.” He said out loud without even knowing who he was talking to.

Noah's head popped up from over the backrest of the couch as he shook it with a laugh. “No, forget it.”

“What?” Stiles blinked confused. His dad had never forbid him to see his girlfriend, especially during times like that. “Why?”

A sigh left Noah's lips. He turned around completely to get a better look at his son. “Because the last time I let you go anywhere you collapsed.”

“Dad, I'm fine now.”

“No.”

“It's right around the corner.”

“Distance doesn't matter, Stiles, you collapsed right in front of our house.”

Stiles huffed through his nose, letting himself fall back against the wall behind him. He needed to see Lydia. So much had happened the past week and they still hadn't talked about their fight. It was time to get past this, so they could start working together again. He needed her with him.

He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to his dad.

“I need to see her.”

Noah raised his gaze back up from where he was looking at the newspapers in his hand. His eyes were observing Stiles harshly, trying to find any sign of uneasiness. He wanted him safe. Last night was a living nightmare for the father. He hadn't slept one bit, way to upset about what had happened.

What should he do though? He couldn't stay at Stiles' side for the rest of his life to make sure he was okay. But seeing him hurt like that, unconscious, beat up; Noah was tired of it. He couldn't bear it any longer. Stiles was all he got. He couldn't lose him.

Stiles was waiting for an answer – patiently for once.

Another sigh, then: “You gonna write me. Ten minutes after you leave, if I don't get a message, I come looking for you. And believe me, if I should find you all happy and healthy then, I'm gonna-”

“Thanks, dad!” Stiles spoke out relieved, a bride grin showing on his face, while he was already sprinting toward the front door.

“Ten minutes!” The Sheriff yelled after him.

The door fell shut mid words.

The ride over to Lydia's wasn't long, but Stiles still got enough time to completely drown into his thoughts. All he ever wanted for his girlfriend was happiness. He didn't think she was happy like this. They were fighting a lot.. maybe not _fighting_ , but arguing. Then he often did things to upset her. He could only imagine how furious she must have been about the Jackson-thing.

She loved him, that was save to say. And whenever they had those small meaningful moments, they truly were happy. Stiles just thought these few moments weren't enough for her. Not because she was thinking so, but he wanted more for her. She deserved better. He wanted to make it better.

Parking his Jeep on the side of the road, he was motivated enough to have that long awaited talk with Lydia. He got out of the car, wrote his dad a quick text and walked up the driveway to her house. Ringing the bell with one hand, and knocking simultaneously against the door with the other, he waited patiently to get welcomed.

The door opened with Natalie Martin on the other side. He had hoped to sneak around her, but luck wasn't on his side these days.

“Hey, Ms. Martin.” He greeted with a friendly smile. As his lips turned up he felt a sting in his bottom lip, making him remember of the way he looked like at the moment. Which explained Ms. Martin's shocked expression perfectly.

Natalie just looked at Stiles, one hand still on the door. “Hello, Stiles.”, she finally answered after what had seemed like forever. Of course she knew what happened at the party. Lydia had told her, she usually told her everything. They had a nice mother-daughter relationship when it came to that. But she hadn't expected to see Stiles that badly beat up.

“I'm here for Lydia.”

“Okay..”

“Uh.. she home?” He asked, when Ms. Martin didn't say anything else and didn't let him inside either.

She raised her head a little, in a way he'd seen Lydia doing a lot of times. She usually did it, when she was preparing herself for an argument.

 _Oh, here we go._ Stiles thought.

“Stiles..” Ms. Martin started and stepped out on the porch with him, leaving the door behind her ajar. She wouldn't let him in. Stiles knew it. She would tell him to stay the fuck away from her daughter. He'd waited for that moment since he started dating Lydia. Waited for that rejection for over two years. And now that it was coming, he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to fight again, he wanted to rest just one fucking moment. Preferably with his beautiful girlfriend by his side.

“How are you?” Natalie asked, startling Stiles for a few seconds, because these weren't the words he'd expected.

“Fine, I'm fine, thank you?” He felt unsure, didn't know what to say other than that, so he waited for her to say something again.

Natalie had her gaze turned towards her daughter's boyfriend, observing him. It reminded Stiles of the way his dad had looked at him, before he allowed him to drive over to the Martin's. “What I really wanted to know was..” She started, sounding hesitate, but sure of herself at the same time. “Are you mentally stable?”

Stiles was gaping at her like a little fish. Was she serious? She looked serious. Oh god, she was serious, wasn't she? He swallowed, trying to not feel offended. He guessed it was a normal question to ask in a situation like that. After all, he'd been in the hospital, because he couldn't handle his panic attack. He wondered who told Lydia about it. His dad probably, or maybe Scott.

After what seemed like a lifetime of only starring at each other, Stiles finally nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“You need help, Stiles, it can't go on like this.” She said, but then stepped back to open the door again. She walked to the side, gesturing to him to come in. “Lydia is upstairs in her room.” She added, making it clear she didn't necessarily needed an answer to what she had said.

Stiles hesitated, but then walked past Ms. Martin into the house. Even though Lydia's mom wasn't his biggest fan, he had always felt like this was his second home, alongside the Argent's one. If home got too depressing, the walls getting to close, the memories too much, he could always come here in the safe place of Lydia's arms. And Natalie accepted it just as much, letting him stay over for dinner and later on in their relationship he even was allowed to sleep over officially.

Which made him think, that maybe he owed her an answer. “I.. talked to a doctor this morning. I can start therapy any time I want.” He said to her, his voice smaller than he had hoped for. “I don't think I'm ready, but if Lydia wants me to, I'm gonna do it for her.”

His hand was resting on the handrail of the stairs, his fingers drumming over the smooth surface. He wasn't nervous, not really. It was just a bad habit of his, he seemed to do in every kind of situation these days.

Natalie studied him from where she was still standing by the front door. Stiles had a good heart, but a heavy soul. A cruel combination. “You should do it for yourself, not for her.” She finally decided to say.

She was right. But he'd never been good at taking care of himself just for the sake of himself. Everything he did was for his mom, so she could rest in peace; for his dad, to not have him worry too much; and for Lydia, because he loved her.

Stiles nodded anyway, before turning around and going up the stairs without another word.

He prepared himself for whatever might come, then he knocked on Lydia's bedroom door.

“Mom, I told you I'm studying.”

Cautiously, he opened the door, slowly at first, until he spotted her on her bed _not_ studying, then he walked fully in. Lydia's head popped up from her pillow, ready to complain again, but she stopped whatever words she wanted to say as she noticed who really had been interrupting her.

“Stiles.” She whispered, whilst sitting up, her big green eyes worried to no end.

“Hey, babygirl.” He replied just as quietly.

The last time ha had seen her had been at the party, when they were playing Truth or Dare. He hadn't noticed her during or after the fight. It made him feel even worse. There was much apologizing to do this day. He felt like shit and looked like it as well, but he didn't care. He couldn't start getting better, when there were still people he'd hurt and he hadn't even said sorry to.

Slowly, he walked towards her. She was resting against the headboard and he took place in front of her in the middle of the bed. He crossed his legs, while he let er watch him. Her eyes traced over his injured face and she arched to kiss it and touch it to make all the pain go away.

“How are you?” Her voice was still soft and so quiet, he almost didn't hear her. “Please be honest.” She added, knowing her boyfriend far too well.

Stiles crooked a smile at her, as he rested both his elbows on his knees and let his fingers dump against each other in no specific rhythm. “My face hurts a little.. my heart as well, but I'm holding up.”

Lydia looked at him with a sad expression. It wasn't that kinda look she got whenever they were fighting, it was the look she got when she was watching him closely after he'd had a nightmare. She didn't feel sad about herself, she felt it for him. Because of him.

She wasn't mad about what had happened, not really. Of course there would have been other solutions, but she needed to admit to herself, that if another girl would have went after Stiles like that, she wouldn't have managed to stay calm either. When it came to that, she could be quite fierce as well.

Still, the mood between them wasn't _right_. There was so much left unsaid and it was catching up to them now. Every single word they had thrown at each other during that fight almost a week ago.

“I went through my mom's stuff.” Stiles started, just trying to get into light conversation, before they would go to heavier topics. “It was hard, but.. I managed. My dad helped me later on and it was so freaking nice to spent some time with him again like that. God, Lyida, I didn't realize how much I missed talking to him. We didn't really do that since the whole moving-in-thing, you know.”

There was still so much they had to get used to as a family, it wasn't really anyone's fault they didn't find much time to talk like they had done before Melissa and Scott moved in with them. But that didn't prevent him from missing these talks with his dad. Especially because all they had done lately was fighting.

“You and your dad always were close.” Lydia commented softly.

“Yeah.”

They fell quiet for a while, both of them trying to sort their thoughts out. Even though no one was mad at the other anymore, they had to talk about these kinda things. Lydia thought about the way she had talked to him, how she'd put him down, even though he already hadn't been feeling well. And Stiles got haunted by the way he had treated his girlfriend. It hadn't been fair of him to push her away, just so he wouldn't have to deal with her maybe leaving on her own.

Stiles was the first one to talk.

“When I lost my mom.. that was like.. it felt like that was the first bad thing, that ever happened to me. Before that, I didn't knew things like that could happen to my own parents, you know. It was like my whole life and the world I lived in wasn't real anymore. Her death consumed me in the worst way possible.” Stiles was sure she knew all that already, but he needed her to hear the words again, make her understand how he'd felt a few years ago and _still_ felt every now and then.

He continued. “You made everything better again. I felt lighter and happier and.. and I know you're always trying to look for _something_ that's gonna heal the wounds on my soul for good, but all you have to do for that is look into a mirror. You're something, you are my something and that terrifies me to no end.”

Stiles gulped heavily. He was slightly out of breath, not because he felt panicky, but he actually started ranting at some point, the words leaving his mouth like a honest wave of confession. “You are the core, that keeps everything alive within me. And it shouldn't be like that, because I don't want you to feel pressured in that kinda position, knowing you either make my life better or end it for good. But I need you to know that you aren't the only one being afraid of crushing me, because I am as well. And that's why I'm acting out over and over again. Because I think maybe, just maybe, it would be better to break things off before it's too late. Letting go of you, before I'm in too deep, but I already am. And I can't let you go. And it's not fair to treat you like shit, just because I've got one of those moments again. I'm sorry.”

The silence was too loud for Stiles' ears but he forced himself to bear it. He deserved to get punished like that. Not knowing what Lydia thought, floating helplessly around, just like she always did because of him.

Lydia starred at him. Nothing he'd said was new to her and still it was making her feel all vulnerable and open. She understood it, every single word he'd said, but he only saw half of the picture. “Stiles, do you have any idea how much I love you? I mean it, I love you _so_ much, that sometimes my chest pulls itself together at the very thought of you. You ground me, you showed me what it feels like to get loved. While everyone around me only saw my beautified shell, you were the one who thought it was worth digging deeper. You made me the person I am right now. I know you need me so you won't break, but I need you to keep being myself, so I won't _lose_ myself.”

It was toxic how they were depending on each other, how much they needed each other. But Lydia thought it was okay to be toxic as long as they kept being the cure for each other as well. They had grown up together, didn't know a life without the other. It was okay to need and to be needed.

Stiles looked at her in wonder, as if he only now would realize how much he meant to her. After over two years of being a couple it finally seemed to get through him. It wasn't like she had never said things like that to him, he just never saw the desperation behind her words. Now though, he could see what she was feeling, it was all over her face. Her love, her need, the fear of losing him.

And she did lose him, all the time. Every time he was leashing out or woke up being confused, not knowing what reality was. She lost him every time he was losing himself, but she managed to pull him back to her. She could live like that, knowing that she needed to anchor him from time to time.

What she couldn't live with was the worry. Him leaving her to tame his anxiety. Their last fight was so close to a hurtful break up. All he'd had to say would've been a simple “Fine” to her telling him to break it off himself, if he couldn't stand it anymore. Instead he'd said nothing.

Just like he was silent now as well.

His mouth was slightly open, making him look like he _wanted_ to answer, but he didn't know how.

Lydia helped him. “You need to promise me to never leave me because you're too afraid of losing me through something else.” Her expression was stern and serious. She wasn't making any jokes, she needed him to understand that. “I can't make sure you'll never lose me. I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but right now, I know I love you to no end and I want to spent and enjoy every moment with you, but I can't do that, if you won't assure me you stay with me even if your fears trying to tell you otherwise.”

Stiles hadn't been aware, that Lydia needed him to promise things like that so badly. He'd always thought she was confident enough to not worry about it. That's what made him anxious. He'd thought he needed her more, loved her more. Now that he knew she had the same fears as he did, he felt bad for never really assuring her he'd stay with her through everything.

He was the worst son, the worst boyfriend and probably the worst brother as well, when he thought about how he didn't even hug Scott back this morning.

Yet, all those people he loved or cared about were willing to give him endless chances of trying to make it better. And it was the first time he realized, that they probably loved him just as much.

Stiles crawled towards his girlfriend until his knees met hers. He closed both his hands around her rosy cheeks and looked deep into her emerald eyes. “I will never leave you, because of my fucking damaged mind, you hear me? I'm so sorry I made you feel like that.” His voice was sincere and a little broken. All he ever wanted was to make his girl feel good and loved. He hadn't even noticed how he broke her all along with him. He could understand why Natalie disliked him.

Lydia nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. Not because of sadness, but out of relief.

She'd had to hear that.

His forehead rested gently against hers. Both of them taking each other in. Lydia could feel Stiles' breath on her lips, his trembling hands, which were still holding her cheeks. She got him back, she realized. That was her Stiles. A little broken, but gentle and caring. His fingertips stroked softly against her face, seeing her without having his eyes open. He memorized every detail of her face since they were kids, he would always know exactly what she looked like.

“I'm sorry, too.” A whisper ghosted over Stiles' lips, he could taste her vulnerable words right on his tongue. “Our fight, the things I've said to you.. it's not fair and I shouldn't have done that. I provoked you, and I think I did it on purpose.”

Slowly, she raised her head again, so she could look into his eyes. He'd said his own apology, while showing his all emotions on his face. She owed him to do the same, instead of hiding into his body.

For the second time this afternoon, gold and green mixed together.

Not for the first time this afternoon, Stiles thought how beautiful Lydia looked like that.

At the edge of crying, but hopeful.

“Everything you said is true though.” Stiles answered.

Lydia shook her head. “No, not for me.”

She took his hands into her own, moving them away from her face and down into her lap. She kept her hold on him, playing with his fingers until she found the right words and he let her. “I'm not seeing you like this, Stiles. You're not a paranoid, angsty person with trust issues.”

“Well for not seeing me like this, you're pretty good at describing me.” He joked and Lydia shot him a quick stern look to shut him up. It worked.

“For me, you're the one who's got the biggest heart, protecting everyone you love. You bring joy into my life, you make me want to be the best version of myself. _You_ are nothing but good for me. All the negative things you experienced let you turn out to be this person. The person I love wholeheartedly.”

Stiles looked at her, his eyes shining vulnerably, but with so much love as well. It remembered Lydia of the time she had kissed him, back then when they hadn't been together yet, and he'd had a panic attack. No one ever had looked at her like that.

He leaned forward, his head pressing into her chest as he closed his eyes and breathed her in. Lydia let go of his hands to close her arms around his body instead. She leaned back against the headboard to support the extra weight on her.

“I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“My dad gave me a diary, it belonged to my mom and she.. she wrote everything in there since she got the diagnose.” Stiles swallowed and he was glad he had his eyes closed and his face pressed against Lydia's body, so he didn't have to look at her.

“Did you read it already?”

“Bits and pieces. And you know what she said?”

“What?”

“I had a huge crush on Sally.”

Lydia sucked in her breath dramatically. “I knew it! I've always known.”

“Redheads make me weak.” Stiles said dreamily, making Lydia laugh a beautiful sound.

* * *

They decided to stay in bed for the next few hours. Lydia on her back and Stiles on top of her, his head resting on her stomach, her hands stroking through his mess of hair. In moments like this, Lydia always felt older than she actually was. And not in a bad way. More like in a mature way. She didn't feel like a love struck teenage girl. She felt like a grown up getting a little peace for once in her usual stressful life. Alongside her boyfriend, who felt heavy, but grounding on her stomach.

Stiles told her more about his mom's book, how he'd read it on his bed until he started crying pathetically. Lydia of course, assured him there was nothing pathetic about it. She was sure, she would have locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. Grieve was something, she couldn't handle well either.

Talking about the diary, Stiles started remembering things of his childhood, he thought he had long forgotten. Lydia wasn't sure if she ever heard Stiles talk that much in the last past month, but she wouldn't complain. She was happy hearing him talk about stuff like that, especially because he usually had trouble thinking of his mom in that way.

They had shared their childhood together. Lydia remembered Claudia as a lovely and kind person. She had always been the one who had taken Stiles to play dates, she had complemented Lydia on her dresses and her hair, she had baked pies for all of them and had kissed away any pain when one of them hurt themselves. Lydia remembered all these little details about Stiles' mom and it broke her own heart thinking about it.

After two hours of talking and cuddling and just laying together, Natalie called them for dinner. Even though Lydia's mom didn't get along that well with Stiles, he was glad to sit in a smaller round at the dining table for once. Since Melissa and Scott had moved in, there was so much talking during dinner, which Stiles didn't bug that much, but it was nice to sit with the Martins alone nonetheless. Natalie was nice company, as long as she didn't try shooting lasers through her eyes at her daughter's boyfriend.

They ate together, not in complete silence, therefore Stiles was glad Natalie didn't mention anything therapy related in front of Lydia, because he still hadn't talked to her about that. He wanted to save that for another time and cherish the happy and quiet moment for now.

The Martins had always been family to him, just as the Argents and maybe that was the reason he felt so anxious towards them. They had been there, all the time, just as his mom until she slipped away from his fingers. They all gave him peace, grounded him and made him feel save, but at the same time he feared he would lose one of them the same as his mother.

Stiles felt Lydia's hand on his thigh beneath the table, while she was talking to her mom about some kind of museum she wanted to visit next with her. It amazed him how she constantly noticed his mood swings without him having to say anything. He squeezed her hand shortly, before picking up his fork again to finish his dinner.

A little later, Stiles left with Lydia to meet Kira and Isaac. They were hiding in their band room for the rest of the day. Even though the last practice was a while ago, neither of them could bring themselves to get up and actually do something other than laying around. And there was also Kira, who worried over Stiles and his short hospital visit, telling him, he shouldn't worry about anything band related at the moment.

Stiles had almost forgotten how nice it felt to just hang out with his friends without overthinking anything. Sure, he noticed both Allison's and Scott's absence, but for the first time he couldn't care less. He was sitting on the familiar, worn sofa with his girlfriend in his arms and two of his three best friends around him. He felt light, despite everything that had happened the day before and this morning.

In the evening he was back at home again, alone with Melissa and Scott, since his dad got a night shift and Lydia's mom wanted her daughter to stay at home for the night. Elias hid himself in his room, so there was one person less to get annoyed with.

For Stiles, nights like this were always the strangest constellation. When his dad wasn't home and he was left with two people he didn't ever think of living together with. He still couldn't label them as a family, but it didn't feel as weird anymore as in the beginning.

They were watching TV together until bedtime. Melissa checked in on Elias every once in a while, making sure he was still alive and behaving himself. Stiles couldn't care less about his grandfather, if he was being honest.

Melissa seemed to be happy about Stiles sitting with them in the living room. Especially, in the beginning he often locked himself in his room (just as Elias now, but he ignored that similarity) and tried to forget about the newest changes in the household. This evening though, he felt comfortable enough to just sit with Melissa and Scott, even though his dad wasn't anywhere near.

Stiles even joined the conversation the McCalls were having together. And for the first time, he didn't feel forced to do anything he didn't really want to. He quipped in every now and then, when he's got something to say, but didn't get pressured to talk, whenever he focused more on the movie playing on TV.

He couldn't remember when the last night was, that he crawled into bed and felt actually happy and warm and relaxed. Even without his dad home or Lydia beside him. Just Scott snoring on the mattress beside him, which usually annoyed him endlessly, but not this time.

Almost, _almost_ he felt normal. If it wasn't for his constant fear, always lurking in the shadows, even when he felt like nothing bad could happen for once.

* * *

Stiles didn't even remember falling asleep as he suddenly found himself standing in the middle of the woods. Sharp sticks and roots were sticking into his naked feet. Dirt already covering his pale skin. The air was cold around him, but that's not what made him shiver.

There was a presence, he could feel it. Something that crept up on him. His breath was ragged, little white clouds whirled out between his lips. Stiles rubbed his goosebumps covered arms. He wanted to call out for someone, but his instincts told him otherwise.

Slowly, he started walking. His feet sunk into the mud with every step, but he didn't even care. He was too caught up making his way to the place his mind wanted him to be. His fingers twitched by his sides, awaiting something to happen any moment.

For a long time nothing happened at all. Stiles wandered through the darkness, the only sign of life around him was his own heartbeat. But then, after what felt like hours, he made it to a glade. The trees were clearing around him until he stood in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of nothing.

Stiles could see the outline of a person crouching down in front of him. He couldn't see much, the only giving light was the full moon shining high in the sky.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked in a shaky voice. He didn't think he would get an answer, so right after his question, he set himself in motion and walked towards the person.

He walked and walked and walked, but didn't get closer. With furrowed brows he looked down at himself. His feet were moving, he could hear the ground crunching, see it moving as he walked. But he couldn't leave the spot he was standing since he entered the clearing.

Stiles panicked slightly. When he couldn't get closer to that person, that meant, he couldn't get away from them either, if they decided to turn on him. He froze in his spot, hoping, if he wouldn't make a sound, maybe the unknown wouldn't notice him.

He heard faint humming coming from the shadowy thing, followed by a whispering singing. Stiles blinked, trying to concentrate to hear better. The voice got a little louder, as if sensing he couldn't hear it well. The lyrics of a lullaby creeping into Stiles mind.

 _Sleep sleep sleep_  
_Don’t lie too close to the edge of the bed_  
_Or little gray wolf will come_  
_And grab you by the flank,_  
_Drag you into the woods_  
_Underneath the willow root._

Stiles swallowed as the lullaby came to an end and the person in front of him stood up. He reached his hand out and a small light suddenly flowed from the ground up in the air until it landed right in the palm of the stranger. He closed his fist around it, then it was gone.

The shadow moved away from where it was standing, revealing the sight in front of him and Stiles nearly choked on his own scream.

He hadn't seen it before, but now it was right in front of his eyes. Scott's motionless body was lying in the dirt, his eyes wide open, but lifeless. Blood was pouring from the side of his stomach, the skin torn apart. Hovering above Scott's dead body was a huge dark creature with red glowing eyes. It growled at him and again Stiles tried to move away, his legs running, but he couldn't get away.

A loud howl left the creature's mouth, then it was sprinting towards him.

Stiles screamed and covered his face with his arms in a lousy attempt to protect himself. He fell backwards to the ground and when he let his limbs sink again, the wolf like creature was gone. Stiles heard something chattering, it took him a while to notice it were his own teeth. He tried to stop his shaking, as a voice suddenly startled him from behind.

“You can't cheat death.”

Stiles' head was whipping around, seeing the shadow now standing a little closer to him. Still, he didn't recognize the man or his voice.

“Is he dead?” He asked in return, sniffing his nose.

“Who?”

“Scott.” Stiles said, his voice breaking. He hadn't noticed he started crying until the tears were dripping down his jaw.

The man didn't answer, so Stiles risked another look to where Scott had been lying. Of course he was gone. Angrily, he washed the wet spots on his face away with his palm, before carefully standing up.

He was tired of feeling this weak.

Sick of crying, god, he was _always_ cyring.

He grunted annoyed, looking around, but just as in the beginning he didn't see anything other than the creepy shadow standing calmly a few feet away from him. Stiles didn't see a reason to play this game. He raised his head confidently and started walking towards the trees again, hoping to find a way out of the forest.

“You can't run away from what you did.” The voice of the shadow spoke up again, causing Stiles to stop and whirl around angrily.

“I didn't do anything!” He yelled back.

“No?” The shadow asked in a manner, that let Stiles doubt himself. It got colder around him again, making him shiver and shake. The air brushed his body, hugging him in a freezing blanket. The humming sound of the lullaby returned, filling the silence on the glade. Stiles lifted his hands to his arms again, trying to rub the warmth into his body, but as soon as he touched his skin, he felt something sticky on his arms. Confusion rolled over him as he looked down on himself. His hands were bloody, just as his arms were he had stroked over.

A shaky breath left Stiles' lips, while he observed his hands. He hadn't been anywhere near Scott, this couldn't be. It was just as in the dream he'd had at the motel, Allison's blood pooling between his fingers. Was that the answer? Was he dreaming right now? Why did it feel so goddamn real then though?

“I didn't do anything.” Stiles said again, whispering the words to himself.

Hastily, he tried to wipe the blood off on his sleeping pants and shirt, but it was no use. The red liquid increased until it was dripping freely from his fingertips. Stiles could feel tears welling up in his eyes again. He didn't know what was happening and it scared him to no end.

“What begins and has no end, and ends all that begins?” The voice asked him, sounding almost hoarse, making himself even creepier than before.

Stiles swallowed thickly, forcing himself to turn around and look back to the shadow. It repeated the riddle, its eyes piercing into Stiles' all the while. He still couldn't make out the face in the dark, making him feel like watching into an immense darkness, trying to swallow him up.

He could hear his own increasing heartbeat in his ears, as he shook his head. “I don't know.” He sounded as pathetic as he felt. Vulnerable in the open, without any control over the situation.

The shadow moved, but stayed hidden in the darkness where the moonlight didn't reach. It moved slowly, making no noise while doing so. Stiles kept his eyes on it, even though he could taste his own fear on his tongue.

“I am always around, but never seen.” It started saying, whilst walking in circles around Stiles. “I am often avoided, but you can't out run me.” The shadow disappeared, causing Stiles to whirl around himself until he spotted it on the opposite of its previous position. “For I will come, when you're old and grey, or maybe even the very next day.” Its voice turned darker, but more seductive. “I will come with cold embrace and give you rest with a chilled kiss on your face.” Stiles felt a dust of wind blowing over his cheek. He reached up to stroke his face, but the blood on his hands kept dripping, making his stomach turn and his hand sink again. “I come in many forms of emotional state, whether it's irony, love, laughter or hate.” The shadow stopped moving and looked directly at Stiles. Even though he couldn't see it, he _felt_ how intensely it held his gaze. With a soft voice it spoke its last phrase. “I am everyone's final fate.”

Stiles curled his hands to fists, he felt the blood running underneath his fingernails. Tightly, he hugged his arms over his own body, feeling the need to protect himself, as the shadow asked him it's final question. “What am I, Stiles?”

There was no need to think about the answer.

There was no need to hesitate.

“Death.”

In the blink of an eye the shadow moved, not slowly and surely like before, but fast like a flash. It stopped right in front of Stiles. “That's right.” It whispered, before reaching up and taking the hood off of its head, revealing its face.

Stiles startled, his own face looking back at him with a sickly twisted grin on his face. He shook his head as if the image in front of him would change like that. But of course, it didn't. Death wore his face, looking calm and more in control, than Stiles had ever felt.

He tried to get away from his dark self, walking backwards, while he kept starring at it. Again, he couldn't move away, his legs were moving, but his position didn't change. Stiles let out a panicky sob, making his legs move faster until he suddenly slipped on something wet on the ground.

With a cry he fell backwards, expecting a harsh impact, but instead he landed rather softly on a pile of something. It felt warm and cold at the same time underneath him and Stiles slowly turned around, his whole body shaking with dread. Lifeless eyes were starring back at him after he'd fully turned around. Another loud sob left his lips as he recognized the loveliest green eyes he'd ever looked into. This time though, there wasn't anything lovely about it. Lydia's dead eyes were glaring right into his soul, her face covered in blood.

He screamed in agony.

Stiles vision blurred with tears, but he could still make out the outlines of the other bodies. His dad, Scott, Melissa, Allison, Isaac, Kira, his mom. There were all there. “No.”, he whimpered to himself. His hands slipping on the bloody bodies and he almost fell back onto his dead friends and family, but he caught himself right in time. The pile of bodies seemed to get bigger with every movement Stiles did. He watched as more familiar faces appeared in front of him. More dead eyes judging him, blaming him. With every move he made.

“You did this!” Death said and Stiles tried to find him, but he was nowhere in sight.

“No.” Stiles answered desperately, trying to convince himself.

“It was you.”

“No!”

“You, Stiles!”

Stiles let his head drop forward in defeat and another scream left his throat as he saw the same black clothes Death had worn on himself. The pitch black hoodie covered his head and he reached up to pull it down.

Arms wrapped tightly around him and he started trashing violently. “No!”, he screamed again, louder in hope anyone would hear him, even though he knew it was useless. “Get away from me!” Stiles struggled hard against Death's arms. He screamed and trashed, trying anything to free himself.

“Stiles, please!” He heard someone else plead.

“Everything's okay, it was just a nightmare, Stiles.”

“Come on, open your eyes, you're alright, you're safe.”

Melissa's voice echoed near his right ear. The arms around him still holding him in a strong grip, but they felt thinner now, and softer. Strands of hair were tickling the side of his face. And suddenly it wasn't so cold around him anymore.

Slowly, he blinked his eyes open. His room came to sight, the light of the bedside lamp bathing him in warm, yellowish warmth. Scott's face hovered above him, looking healthy, vital and _alive._ Stiles stopped screaming, his throat hurt badly from it. The tears were falling freely down his cheeks though.

Stiles sniffed his running nose, his whole body was shaking, he couldn't calm down entirely.

“You're with me?” Melissa asked softly, so she wouldn't startle Stiles. The teenager nodded as an answer, not trusting his own voice to speak up. He shouldn't let that happen, shouldn't allow himself to get hold by her, but he couldn't move. He didn't want to. He needed every kind of comfort he could get right now. And fighting wasn't an option at the moment.

Stiles hiccuped, before he buried his face deeper into Melissa's shoulder. She didn't say anything, just held him tighter. He could hear Scott exhale, a relieved sigh ghosting through the now silent room. Scott's ears were still ringing from Stiles' earlier screams. It had been heart wrecking.

Melissa stroked gently over Stiles' back as she held him tightly to her chest. She had never experienced something like that, not even in the hospital. It frightened her, even now her heart was still beating rapidly. But Stiles laid limp in her arms, breathing evenly into her shoulder. She rested her head on his, feeling any kind of motherly feelings. Cautiously, she ran her hand over his sweaty face, she tried her best to wipe away all traces of his nightmare.

“You're safe.” She kindly said, assuring him, but herself as well.

Stiles didn't say anything. He just kept lying against Melissa's upper body. His pride long gone, so he just let it happen. He closed his eyes, as he felt her fingers in his face. He wished it wouldn't feel as heart wrenching as it did. Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat and pressed his eyes tighter close.

He wasn't safe. Neither was she. No one was, especially around him.

_You can't cheat death._

The words were echoing in Stiles' head, while he listened to Melissa's steady heartbeat beneath him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Facts:  
> Claudia attacking Stiles actually happened in the show (5x6), I just changed it up a little bit.  
> The last page in Claudia's book was written on September 24th, that's the same day the finale of Teen Wolf aired in the US. (anyone's crying?)  
> Also, did anyone notice, the chapter title is always showing somewhere within the chapter? Just wondering.. :D  
> Disclaim:  
> Both death riddles are not written by myself. Neither is the lullaby death is singing (I think it's Russian origin).


	10. NO UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, but this is not an update.

Hi! 

I'm sorry if I got your hopes up, but this is no update.

Though I'm writing this to explain why there actually is none.

\- Well, first of all, my life got in my way. I've had a few private issues and needed some time to sort things out.

\- Also, I applied for a new job, which is taking some of my time and if I actually get accepted, there will be even less time for me to write. 

\- Last but definitely not least: Lack of inspiration. I just don't get the chapter filled. I still have some ideas, but I'm struggling writing everything down the way I want it to be. I also have another huge problem, lack of inspiration for  _Stydia._ I adored this ship so much, but lately I feel like there wasn't really anything to ship in the first place. I think I'm still salty because of the series finale (which was shitty in general, but especially for Stydia). I think that maybe I will get my excitement back again, if I go and rewatch older seasons, but I'm totally not in the mood for that at the moment. 

Still  **I won't abandon this story!** I'm still writing bits and pieces in between, but you know the lenght of my chapters, so you can imagine it's taking forever that way. 

I just wanted you to know (and understand) why there isn't any news regarding this fic  _and_ that I won't leave it unfinished. 

 

I hope y'all are doing well and I also want to thank you for sticking around and making me enjoy writing. <3

See you soon (hopefully!)

 

Yours dearly 

**Author's Note:**

> for updates and/or getting to know each other if you want to  
> twitter: @cmsprouts  
> 


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